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Low inventory, high interest rates strap Va. housing market
Homebuyers in Virginia are continuing to feel the strain of low inventory and high interest rates. The number of active listings on the market is shrinking, and fewer new listings are coming on the market. Despite a brief uptick in inventory at the beginning the year, about 67% of the state’s counties and cities had […]
Barkin: Raising interest rates is correct course
As inflation remains high and the fallout from recent bank failures seems contained, the Federal Reserve Bank has good reason to continue raising interest rates, Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond President and CEO Tom Barkin said Thursday in a speech to the Virginia Council of CEOs at the University of Richmond. “It is worth remembering that not […]
Barkin: Inflation improving but not yet low enough
With inflation decreasing but still not at its 2% target, the Federal Reserve still needs “to stay on the case,” Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond President and CEO Tom Barkin said Thursday at a conference hosted in Richmond by the Virginia Bankers Association and the Virginia Chamber of Commerce. Inflation continued to slow in December […]
Barkin: To address inflation, U.S. must rethink labor
As the U.S. moves to a short-labor environment, it will be necessary for businesses, governments and nonprofits to reassess their approach to labor, Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond President and CEO Tom Barkin said Friday in Richmond. Speaking at the Virginia Chamber’s 2022 Virginia Economic Summit and Forum on International Trade, Barkin said that although […]
Fed’s Barkin asks, ‘What’s ‘normal’ anymore?’
The question Tom Barkin is asked the most these days is when the economy will return to normal. The president and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond has a caution for those who may be wishing for the perceived stability of the pre-pandemic economy. “After two-and-a-half years of instability, we’re all ready to […]
Va. CEOs say labor shortages, inflation hurting business
Labor shortages and inflation are negatively impacting Virginia businesses, and expectations for sales, employment and capital spending are less positive than during the previous two quarters, according to the third quarter CEO Economic Outlook Survey by the University of Richmond‘s Robins School of Business and the Virginia Council of CEOs (VACEOs). More than 80% of […]
Fifth District economy little changed since August, Fed says
The economy in the Federal Reserve‘s Fifth District (a multistate region including Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, West Virginia and Maryland) has been largely unchanged since August, according to the latest edition of the Federal Reserve’s Beige Book, released Wednesday. Published eight times per year, the Beige Book is based on anecdotal information about economic […[...]
Fighting back
Inflation and supply chain problems have pushed up the price of citric acid by 200%. That’s a problem for Crystal Wellman because citric acid is a primary ingredient in bath products she sells at Sugar + Spruce, her bath, body and skin care products shop in downtown Fredericksburg. Wellman could try just raising prices, but […]
Va. CEOs worry about inflation
Inflation is bad for Virginia businesses. That was the biggest takeaway from a survey of Virginia CEOs in July. The University of Richmond‘s Robins School of Business and the Virginia Council of CEOs administered the survey from July 7 to July 14, with 63 executives responding. “It is no surprise that inflation is hurting small […]
Higher gas prices are needed
The U.S. inflation rate, which reached 8.6% in May, is at its highest point in 40 years. In 1982, it was just over 6%. Since then, the U.S. inflation rate has hovered mostly in the 2% to 4% range. The inflation rate is determined by changes in the cost of a fixed basket of 80,000 […]
Barkin: Inflation high, but Fed has tools to contain it
Tom Barkin agrees — inflation is too high. But he also says the Fed has the authority to get it back on the right track. That’s what the president and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond told the Richmond chapter of the Risk Management Association on Tuesday at Triple Crossing Beer, a brewery […]
Economic growth to continue slowing, ODU experts say
The U.S. economy will continue to slow in the second half of 2022 and a recession is increasingly likely, according to the Old Dominion University’s Dragas Center for Economy Analysis and Policy’s mid-year economic forecast released Friday. Increases in inflation are expected to slow as well but harden, leaving costs elevated, report Robert McNab and […]
