A measure of US services industry activity surged to a record high in October likely as declining Covid-19 cases boosted demand, but businesses remained burdened by snarled supply chains and the resulting exorbitant prices.

The Federal Reserve will begin to slow its stimulus bond purchases this month as the US economy makes a solid recovery from the pandemic, but the central bank will be patient before raising interest rates, Fed Chair Jerome Powell said Wednesday.

Rivian Automotive, an Amazon-backed electric vehicle startup, said Monday it is targeting a valuation of more than $50 billion.

US President Joe Biden told the COP26 climate summit Monday that the massive response needed to stop the climate crisis should be seen as an opportunity for the world’s economies.

The United States and European Union are expected this weekend to announce a deal to resolve a dispute over US steel and aluminum tariffs imposed in 2018 by former President Donald Trump, easing a major transatlantic trade irritant, six people familiar with the agreement said.

Exxon Mobil Corporation and Chevron Corporation on Friday disclosed plans to expand drilling in the top US shale basin after posting their biggest quarterly profits in years.

US consumer spending increased solidly in September, but was partly flattered by higher prices, with inflation remaining hot as shortages of motor vehicles and other goods persisted amid global supply constraints.

President Joe Biden has bet that the high US inflation rate will decline and help the case for the spending plans he’s staked his presidency on, but data released Friday instead showed prices remaining stubbornly high in the world’s largest economy.

New orders for US-made capital goods increased to a record high in September and shipments surged, pointing to strong business spending on equipment, though stretched supply chains likely hampered overall economic growth in the third quarter.

US consumer confidence unexpectedly rose in October as concerns about high inflation were offset by improving labor market prospects, suggesting economic growth was picking up after a turbulent third quarter.

Google’s parent company Alphabet announced profits Tuesday that jumped to $18.9 billion, even as the online colossus faces increased regulatory pressure and shifting of the lockdown lifestyles that have so benefited Big Tech.

Labor shortages may be the most intractable of the cost risks that US companies faced in the latest quarter, and as the earnings season moves into its peak there are signs the problem will persist, some strategists say.

The US government is once again nearing the limit on how much debt it can take on, a familiar deadline that will force the country’s political elite into high-stakes negotiations over averting a default.

Facebook announced over US$9 billion in quarterly profits on Monday, hours after a US news collective published a deluge of withering reports arguing the company prioritises its growth over people’s safety.

Inflation in the United States, pushed upward by pandemic-related supply and labor problems, should return to more moderate levels in the second half of next year, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said Sunday.

US Democrats are expected to unveil a tax plan on Monday that would seek to raise hundreds of billions of dollars from the country’s roughly 700 billionaires to help pay for expanding the social safety net and tackling climate change.

To keep the taps at his recently opened beer tasting room flowing, Peter Chekijian had no choice but to ask his main employees to come in seven days per-week.

The US budget deficit narrowed slightly in the past year as the economy recovered from the pandemic, falling $360 billion to $2.8 trillion, the government reported Friday.

Supply bottlenecks and labor shortages have slowed US economic growth and contributed to a sharp rise in prices, the Federal Reserve said Wednesday.

Global finance officials are worried about rising inflation pressures but there it is little fear that it will become a  “runaway train,” IMF chief Kristalina Georgieva said Sunday.