Business Update – July 10 2024

Welcome to our Weekly Digest – stay in the know with some recent news updates relevant to business and the economy.

Inflation hit its lowest level since March 2021 last month

A key inflation measure fell to its lowest level in more than three years last month, but there’s still plenty of work remaining to get price increases down to the historically acceptable level.

Business owners believe employees with AI skills will save them time

AI is making an undeniable impact on the business landscape. And one way that many small businesses are looking to grow in this area is by hiring employees with knowledge of this technology. According to the latest Small Business Index from MetLife and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, 71 percent of small businesses believe that hiring workers with existing AI skills would save them time.

How the IRS is using a bigger budget — and more ‘swagger’ — to audit more rich taxpayers. ‘They are pushing hard now.’

Anyone on the receiving end of an IRS audit will say there’s never a good time to open up the books for Uncle Sam’s revenue agents. That’s never felt more true, say people who’ve witnessed the Internal Revenue Service in action recently.

Americans look past fuel cost, bad weather to set July Fourth travel record

High fuel costs and the threat of a hurricane are not expected to dampen Americans’ desire to hit the road this summer, with vacationers preparing for record travel to kick off Fourth of July holiday festivities.

Fed’s Williams: still ‘a way to go’ to reach 2% inflation goal

The Federal Reserve has taken great strides in lowering inflation back down toward its 2% target rate but is still “a way” from achieving the goal, New York Fed Bank President John Williams said on Friday.

IRS warns of clean energy tax credit scam

The Internal Revenue Service issued a warning Wednesday cautioning taxpayers to beware of a new scam involving the purchase of clean energy tax credit

Echoes of dotcom bubble haunt AI-driven US stock market

A U.S. stock rally supercharged by excitement over artificial intelligence is drawing comparisons with the dotcom bubble two decades ago, raising the question of whether prices have again been inflated by optimism over a revolutionary technology.

Tipped off: American consumers grapple with tip creep

“People are being asked to tip more than ever”  “There are crazy examples that you would have never even thought of 10 years ago. It’s getting harder and harder to avoid.”
Which is why Americans are apparently fed up, according to a new Bankrate survey, opens new tab on the subject. In fact, 59% of respondents report they have at least one negative view of tipping.

US economy adds 206,000 jobs in June as labour market shows signs of cooling

The US economy added 206,000 jobs in June, signalling a slight cooling in the labour market, according to the latest data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).

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