Inkhabar webdesk

By Howard Schneider PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) -The U.S. labor market remained mired in its low-hiring, low-firing doldrums through September, though the economy "may be on a somewhat firmer trajectory than expected," Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said on Tuesday, noting that policymakers will take a "meeting-by-meeting" approach to interest rate cuts as they balance job market weakness with above-target inflation. Powell, in remarks to a National Association for Business Economics conference in Philadelphia, acknowledged the economic dilemma that has split U.S. central bank officials almost evenly among those concerned most about still-high and potentially rising inflation, and those worried the labor market may be facing a fast slide downward. A newly added complication, Powell said, is that recent data on economic activity have been stronger than expected, but that hasn't yet translated into renewed hiring strength. "You do have a bit of tension between labor market data – we see very low levels of job creation – and yet people are spending," Powell said. "We are going to have to see how that plays out." The analysis, for now, will be done in the absence of official data largely suspended by the U.S. government shutdown. Powell said he felt there was adequate insight for the Fed's coming October 28-29 meeting, but that "we'll start to miss that data, particularly October data," if the shutdown persists. But for the time being, Powell said, there is a broad-enough array of public and private information to make a policy judgment, with the Bureau of Labor Statistics recently told by the Trump administration that it could release its Consumer Price Index report for September. It is now due to be published on October 24, ahead of the Fed's next policy meeting. "Based on the data that we do have, it is fair to say that the outlook for employment and inflation does not appear to have changed much since our September meeting four weeks ago," at which the Fed cut its benchmark interest rate by a quarter of a percentage point, Powell said. "Data available prior to the shutdown, however, show that growth in economic activity may be on a somewhat firmer trajectory than expected." His remarks did not change the near unanimous consensus among investors that the Fed would cut its policy rate by another quarter of a percentage point in two weeks. Powell is "saying that the economy is on solid footing, but he's also saying we have weakness … He's preparing the markets for a series of rate cuts, but not necessarily in a sequential order," said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist with Spartan Capital Securities in New York. "He'll cut by 25 basis points at the end of this month, then they'll assess." 'NO RISK-FREE' POLICY PATH Powell noted the "healthy debate" within the Fed, reflected in recent projections that showed about half of its policymakers expecting only one or no more rate cuts this year, and the rest projecting two or more. It's a sign of the tradeoffs the Fed is facing between securing its 2% inflation target and protecting the job market. "There is no risk-free path for policy as we navigate the tension between our employment and inflation goals," Powell said, noting that the policy projections issued by Fed officials every three months "should be understood as representing a range of potential outcomes whose probabilities evolve as new information informs our meeting-by-meeting approach to policymaking." Even with the September jobs report delayed, Powell, who devoted most of his formal remarks on Tuesday to a discussion of Fed balance-sheet policy, said he drew from a variety of public and private data sources for insight on the job market. "While official employment data for September are delayed, available evidence suggests that both layoffs and hiring remain low, and that both households' perceptions of job availability and firms' perceptions of hiring difficulty continue their downward trajectories," Powell said. The elevated inflation, he said, was partly due to rising goods prices that "primarily reflect tariffs rather than broader inflationary pressures." (Reporting by Howard Schneider; Editing by Paul Simao)

(The article has been published through a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has been published verbatim. Liability lies with original publisher.)

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -A shutdown of the U.S. government could hinder the accessibility of insurance coverage to prospective homeowners in flood-prone areas, and cost the already struggling housing market billions of dollars in delayed contract closings, data showed on Tuesday. The report from HomeAbroad, a real estate investment technology platform, estimated that about 3,619 home closings were at risk nationwide daily, translating to roughly a loss of $1.59 billion based on the current $439,278 median home price. The National Flood Insurance Program, which helps to provide coverage for properties in high-risk areas, has suspended services during the shutdown, now entering its third week. Numerous government services have been impacted by the shutdown, which was triggered by a lapse in funding amid a political standoff between Republicans and Democrats in Washington. "This represents the largest potential disruption to the U.S. housing market from a single policy intervention in recent history," said Michele Lawrie, real estate consultant at HomeAbroad. "The economic scale of this shutdown extends far beyond individual homebuyers." The housing market has been battered by higher mortgage rates as the Federal Reserve hiked interest rates to curb inflation. Though mortgage rates have declined as the U.S. central bank resumed lowering borrowing costs last month, an uncertain economic outlook marked by a lethargic labor market has sidelined many prospective homeowners. HomeAbroad projected that a two-week-long shutdown would put 50,658 home closings at risk, with an estimated economic loss of $22.27 billion. A one-month-long shutdown was seen threatening 108,570 home closings, costing an estimated $47.68 billion. The longest government shutdown was in 2018-2019 and lasted 35 days. "A shutdown of similar length today could potentially delay over 126,000 home closings, threatening more than $55 billion in housing market transactions, illustrating the high stakes involved," said Lawrie. HomeAbroad estimated eight states including Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina and Florida, could see more than half of their home sales disrupted as they were highly vulnerable because of elevated flood insurance penetration rates.  (Reporting by Lucia Mutikani; Editing by Andrea Ricci)

(The article has been published through a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has been published verbatim. Liability lies with original publisher.)

By Diana Novak Jones (Reuters) -A U.S. judge on Tuesday rejected Humana's bid to challenge the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services' 2025 ratings for its Medicare Advantage plans, which could cost the health insurance company millions of dollars in bonus payments from the government.  U.S. District Judge Reed O'Connor in Fort Worth, Texas, sided with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in Humana's lawsuit over a reduction in the so-called star ratings for its Medicare Advantage plans, saying CMS properly evaluated the plans. A spokesperson for Humana said the company would explore all legal options. The company remains "committed to delivering meaningful improvements to our Star measurements and returning to top quartile performance as quickly as possible," the spokesperson said in a statement. A spokesperson for HHS, which oversees CMS, said the agency does not comment on litigation. Humana is one of the largest providers of Medicare Advantage plans in the U.S., which are funded by the Medicare health insurance program for seniors and some disabled people but administered by private insurers. CMS issues ratings for the plans, from one to five stars, to help beneficiaries choose. Plans with higher star ratings receive higher payments from the government if they keep costs below certain targets, payouts that can be worth hundreds of millions or billions of dollars. Humana shares were off 3.6% in afternoon trading at $261.11 and are down nearly 12% this week. Humana sued over the 2025 star ratings in July. It claimed its 3.5-star rating could cause it to lose customers and potentially billions of dollars in bonus payments, which it said would have been used to reduce premiums and increase benefits for its members.  The lawsuit came after O'Connor dismissed an earlier challenge to the star ratings, saying the company failed to exhaust all of its administrative remedies. The company challenged the way the ratings were calculated, saying its rating was unfairly slashed after a CMS test of its phone support for people with limited English proficiency. It sought an order directing CMS to set aside Humana's 2025 ratings and recalculate them. HHS said problems with Humana's customer service phone line were a fair way to judge the company's accessibility for its customers, according to court filings. In Tuesday's ruling, O'Connor rejected Humana's argument, saying the guidance on how the calls are evaluated was not arbitrary or capricious under federal law. (Reporting by Diana Novak Jones; Additional reporting by Amina Niasse in New York; Editing by Mark Porter, Alexia Garamfalvi and Bill Berkrot)

(The article has been published through a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has been published verbatim. Liability lies with original publisher.)