Fed confident inflation is slowing

Chair Jerome Powell said the Federal Reserve is becoming more convinced that inflation is headed back to its 2% target and said the Fed would cut rates before the pace of price increases actually reached that point. “We’ve had three better readings, and if you average them, that’s a pretty good pace,” Powell said of inflation in a question-and-answer question at the Economic Club of Washington. Those figures, he said, “do add to confidence” that inflation is slowing sustainably. Powell declined to provide any hints of when the first rate cut would occur. But most economists foresee the first cut occurring in September.

China’s economy drops in first quarter

China says its economy expanded at a slower-than-forecast 4.7% annual rate in the last quarter. That was sharply below the 5.3% annual pace of growth seen in the first quarter of the year. Economists say weak consumer demand and reduced government spending are dragging on growth. The economy grew at a 5% pace in the first half of the year, at the government’s target of around 5%. The update Monday on the state of the economy came as leaders of the ruling Communist Party gathered for a once-a-decade conclave to set economic policy that was expected to focus on self-sufficient strategies for growth in an era of tensions over trade and technology.

Burberry appoints new CEO

British luxury fashion house Burberry has appointed Joshua Schulman as its new chief executive officer. The unexpected announcement came as the company warned it expected to record an operating loss in the first half of the year. Fifty-two-year-old Schulman was formerly head of Michael Kors and Coach. He replaces Jonathan Akeroyd, who the company says is stepping down and leaving the firm with immediate effect “by mutual agreement with the board.” Burberry said the luxury market was “proving more challenging than expected.” Burberry shares plunged more than 11% soon after markets opened Monday.

Trump Media surges after shooting

Trump Media surged in the first day of trading following an assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump. Also on Monday, a federal judge presiding over the classified documents case of Trump in Florida dismissed the prosecution because of concerns over the appointment of the special prosecutor who brought the case. Shares in the owner of social networking site Truth Social soared more than 31%.

— Bulletin staff report