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Gurn

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  1. https://www.msn.com/en-ca/money/topstories/fed-attacks-inflation-with-another-big-hike-and-expects-more/ar-AA1263TJ?ocid=msedgdhp&pc=U531&cvid=310e6fe692284e37eb462bb79f2cf6c8 ASHINGTON (AP) — Intensifying its fight against high inflation, the Federal Reserve raised its key interest rate Wednesday by a substantial three-quarters of a point for a third straight time and signaled more large rate hikes to come — an aggressive pace that will heighten the risk of an eventual recession. The Fed’s move boosted its benchmark short-term rate, which affects many consumer and business loans, to a range of 3% to 3.25%, the highest level since early 2008. The officials also forecast that they will further raise their benchmark rate to roughly 4.4% by year's end, a full percentage point higher than they had forecast as recently as June. And they expect to raise the rate further next year, to about 4.6%. That would be the highest level since 2007. The central bank's action Wednesday followed a government report last week that showed high costs spreading more broadly through the economy. By raising borrowing rates, the Fed makes it costlier to take out a mortgage or an auto or business loan. Consumers and businesses then presumably borrow and spend less, cooling the economy and slowing inflation. Speaking at a news conference, Chair Jerome Powell said that before Fed officials would consider halting their rate hikes, they would “want to be very confident that inflation is moving back down” to their 2% inflation target. He noted that the strength of the job market is fueling wage gains that are helping drive up inflation. Fed officials have said they are seeking a “soft landing,” by which they would manage to slow growth enough to tame inflation but not so much as to trigger a recession. Yet most economists say they think the Fed’s steep rate hikes will lead, over time, to job cuts, rising unemployment and a full-blown recession late this year or early next year. “No one knows whether this process will lead to a recession, or if so, how significant that recession would be," Powell said at his news conference. "That’s going to depend on how quickly we bring down inflation.” In their updated economic forecasts, the Fed's policymakers project that economic growth will remain weak for the next few years, with rising unemployment. It expects the jobless rate to reach 4.4% by the end of 2023, up from its current level of 3.7%. Historically, economists say, any time the unemployment rate has risen by a half-point over several months, a recession has always followed. Fed officials now see the economy expanding just 0.2% this year, sharply lower than its forecast of 1.7% growth just three months ago. And it expects sluggish growth below 2% from 2023 through 2025. And even with the steep rate hikes the Fed foresees, it still expects core inflation — which excludes the volatile food and gas categories — to be 3.1% at the end of next year, well above its 2% target. Powell acknowledged in a speech last month that the Fed’s moves will “bring some pain” to households and businesses. And he added that the central bank’s commitment to bringing inflation back down to its 2% target was “unconditional.” Falling gas prices have slightly lowered headline inflation, which was a still-painful 8.3% in August compared with a year earlier. Declining gas prices might have contributed to a recent rise in President Joe Biden’s public approval ratings, which Democrats hope will boost their prospects in the November midterm elections. Short-term rates at a level the Fed is now envisioning would make a recession likelier next year by sharply raising the costs of mortgages, car loans and business loans. The economy hasn’t seen rates as high as the Fed is projecting since before the 2008 financial crisis. Last week, the average fixed mortgage rate topped 6%, its highest point in 14 years. Credit card borrowing costs have reached their highest level since 1996, according to Bankrate.com. Inflation now appears increasingly fueled by higher wages and by consumers’ steady desire to spend and less by the supply shortages that had bedeviled the economy during the pandemic recession. On Sunday, though, Biden said on CBS’ “60 Minutes” that he believed a soft landing for the economy was still possible, suggesting that his administration’s recent energy and health care legislation would lower prices for pharmaceuticals and health care. Some economists are beginning to express concern that the Fed’s rapid rate hikes — the fastest since the early 1980s — will cause more economic damage than necessary to tame inflation. Mike Konczal, an economist at the Roosevelt Institute, noted that the economy is already slowing and that wage increases — a key driver of inflation — are levelling off and by some measures even declining a bit. Surveys also show that Americans are expecting inflation to ease significantly over the next five years. That is an important trend because inflation expectations can become self-fulfilling: If people expect inflation to ease, some will feel less pressure to accelerate their purchases. Less spending would then help moderate price increases. Konczal said there is a case to be made for the Fed to slow its rate hikes over the next two meetings. “Given the cooling that’s coming,” he said, “you don’t want to rush into this.” The Fed’s rapid rate hikes mirror steps that other major central banks are taking, contributing to concerns about a potential global recession. The European Central Bank last week raised its benchmark rate by three-quarters of a percentage point. The Bank of England, the Reserve Bank of Australia and the Bank of Canada have all carried out hefty rate increases in recent weeks. And in China, the world’s second-largest economy, growth is already suffering from the government’s repeated COVID lockdowns. If recession sweeps through most large economies, that could derail the U.S. economy, too. Even at the Fed’s accelerated pace of rate hikes, some economists — and some Fed officials — argue that they have yet to raise rates to a level that would actually restrict borrowing and spending and slow growth. Many economists sound convinced that widespread layoffs will be necessary to slow rising prices. Research published earlier this month under the auspices of the Brookings Institution concluded that unemployment might have to go as high as 7.5% to get inflation back to the Fed’s 2% target. Christopher Rugaber, The Associated Press
  2. I was fine with putting non vaccinated health care workers on leave, and in retrospect I'm still fine with it. When there was no vaccine it was fine to have non vaxxed working. As soon as there was a vaccine, allowing unvaxxed to continue to work in health care would have been a huge mistake. Putting the unvaxxed on leave saved a lot of their lives, and kept the hospital numbers down.
  3. 32 forwards 23 D and 6 goalies enough to fill out 2 teams. that covers the double header opening game.
  4. I was happy before, and I'm still happy; thanks for asking. Nice to know someone cares enough, to enquire.
  5. We must hang out in different threads, I've seen nobody talking bad about Demko; other than Alf, that is.
  6. quite the discount Mac is taking, good team guy. gonna help the team by being reasonable.....blah, blah, blah!
  7. ^ "Oh it isn't that bad at all. All you have to do is not count these numbers, and then the number we tell you won't seem as bad." "See, everything is fine, when you don't count the bad numbers". "Why count bad numbers when they are bad?" Lies, damn lies, and statistics.
  8. So until the government prints another dollar bill, nobody will raise the price of anything? This I did not know.
  9. Magnus just played against Hans in another tournament. Magnus had black, and resigned after Han's second move. So every other player there has to battle Magnus to attempt a win or draw, yet Hans gets a free, easy game. Throws the integrity of the standings into disarray. I'd not have Magnus at any tourney I ran. Guy is more poorly behaved than many people's three year old.
  10. This comment would hold more weight; if you could show someone that said "government spending has nothing to do with inflation".
  11. https://www.msn.com/en-ca/sports/mlb/radio-host-apologizes-to-alejandro-kirk-alek-manoah-for-comments-about-catcher-s-body/ar-AA11V6Hu?ocid=msedgdhp&pc=U531&cvid=3776ef5bbd56438385171a2e13d20e67 Matthew Ross, the host of Weekend Game Plan on TSN 690 in Montreal, has issued an apology for comments he made on social media about Alejandro Kirk's body on Tuesday. "The words were harsh, the sentiment was out of bounds and I deeply regret it," he wrote. While tweeting about a play from the doubleheader versus the Tampa Bay Rays, Ross criticized the fanbase’s admiration of Toronto Blue Jays catcher Alejandro Kirk’s hustle as he scored from first base. "It's cute and all, but it's also embarrassing for the sport," Ross said in a since-deleted tweet. "Giving guys like this prominence feeds negative [baseball] stereotypes." Among the backlash Ross immediately faced, pitcher Alek Manoah, Kirk’s teammate and batterymate, also took to Twitter to defend his close friend. And the 6-foot-6 hurler didn’t pull any punches, either. Manoah went off on Ross’ body shaming comments, and rightly so. Baseball players come in all shapes and sizes, which the 285-pound right-hander made sure to mention. Ross then doubled down on his initial comments, saying that he was attempting to defend the sport. "You're too narrow-minded to see that I am DEFENDING baseball," he replied. "Ratings, attendance and interest in younger demographics are down. And the image of the athletes, and who is marketed to the masses, matters. "Imagine how much better he'd be if he were in better shape." Manoah responded that Kirk - a 5-foot-8, 245-pound catcher - was selected by fans to his first career All-Star Game in July. Justice was served in the end as Manoah and Blue Jays Twitter overwhelmed Ross’ mentions, ultimately causing him to delete his profile. Manoah has never been shy about his appreciation for Kirk, who’s served as his personal catcher all season. Their relationship was on full display during July’s All-Star Game at Dodger Stadium when the first-time All-Star was wearing a microphone in his outing. The 24-year-old has been a workhorse for the Blue Jays this season, logging a career-high 177.2 innings across 28 starts. He owns a 2.43 ERA and has been worth 3.5 fWAR in 2022. Most importantly, though, the young righty always defends his teammates, on and off the field.
  12. Was talking to my Dad yesterday, and the Blue jays get mentioned. We were trying to figure out when was the last time the Blue Jays swept a series of regular season games? Neither of us could remember. must be close to the record for futility.
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