Fed says rate cuts may be nearing

The Federal Reserve faces a cooling job market as well as persistently high prices, Chair Jerome Powell said in testimony to Congress, a shift in emphasis away from the Fed’s single-minded fight against inflation that suggests it’s moving closer to cutting interest rates. The Fed has made “considerable progress” toward its goal of defeating the worst inflation spike in four decades, Powell told the Senate Banking Committee. “Inflation has eased notably” in the past two years, he added, though it remains above the central bank’s 2% target. Powell pointedly noted that “elevated inflation is not the only risk we face.” Cutting interest rates “too late or too little could unduly weaken economic activity and employment,” he said.

Small businesses face rental-price pressure

Rent inflation remains a pressure point for small businesses. The Bank of America Institute found that average monthly rent payment growth for the bank’s small business clients rose 12% year-over-year in May. The rent payments per client closely track the nonresidential real estate rents component of the Producer Price Index, which suggests the increases are largely due to inflation rather than small businesses upgrading to bigger or better space. Easing wage inflation has taken some pressure off of small businesses, Bank of America says.

Purdue Pharma returns to settlement talks

OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma, the family that owns it and lawyers for thousands of parties with claims against it are getting ready to work on a new settlement after the U.S. Supreme Court rejected the last one. The previous deal was fueled by up to $6 billion from members of the Sackler family. The high court ruled that family members who did not seek bankruptcy protection could not be granted protection from lawsuits over opioids. Lawyers want two months to work out a deal. One group is seeking permission to sue the Sacklers over money they transferred from Purdue.

Driverless car hits person in China

A driverless ride-hailing car in China hit a pedestrian, and people on social media are taking the carmaker’s side, because the person was reportedly crossing against the light. Chinese tech giant Baidu said in a statement to Chinese media that its car began moving when the light turned green and had minor contact with the pedestrian. Images posted online show a person sitting on the street in front of the driverless car with its rooftop sensors. The Chinese financial news outlet Yicai said the incident on Sunday in the city of Wuhan highlights the challenge that autonomous driving faces in complex situations.

— Bulletin wire reports