Briefcase

Powell says higher interest rates likely

WASHINGTON – Cooling in the economy appears to have “partly reversed” based on recent data on jobs, consumer spending, production and inflation, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome H. Powell told Congress on Tuesday, suggesting the central bank could keep raising interest rates more aggressively than expected just a few months ago.

“The latest economic data have come in stronger than expected, which suggests that the ultimate level of interest rates is likely to be higher than previously anticipated,” Powell told the Senate Banking Committee.

“If the totality of the data were to indicate that faster tightening is warranted, we would be prepared to increase the pace of rate hikes.”

The remarks, given at the start of two days of testimony on Capitol Hill, underscore how quickly the economy continues to shift three years since the pandemic began.

They also mark a clear signal from the economy’s most powerful policymaker that the Fed would consider sharper interest rate hikes if officials felt the economy was moving in the wrong direction.

Fed leaders will convene again March 21-22 when they will announce their next rate increase and release a fresh set of economic projections on inflation, the unemployment rate, economic growth and the future path for the baseline interest rate controlled by the central bank.

Cancer claims still dog Revlon

Revlon is grappling with a growing number of allegations that some of its hair products cause cancer as the cosmetics company looks to exit Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

Thousands of consumers are alleging Revlon owes them money because they used the company’s hair relaxer products and later developed cancer.

But a deadline to formally lodge such claims against the bankrupt company passed in October – just after the National Institutes of Health published a study showing a correlation between some chemical hair relaxers and uterine cancer.

On Tuesday, Revlon’s bankruptcy judge extended the deadline by which customers with certain types of cancer can file claims against the company. They now have until April 11, which will also allow them to vote on the bankrupt company’s restructuring plan later this month.

More layoffs expected at Meta

Meta Platforms, the owner of Facebook and Instagram, is planning a fresh round of layoffs and will cut thousands of employees as soon as this week, according to people familiar with the matter.

The world’s largest social networking company is eliminating more jobs, on top of a 13% reduction in November, in a bid to become a more efficient organization.

In its earlier round of cuts, Meta slashed 11,000 workers in what was its first-ever major layoff. The company has also been working to flatten its organization, giving buyout packages to managers and cutting whole teams it deems nonessential, Bloomberg News reported in February, a move that is still being finalized and could affect thousands of staffers.

The imminent round of cuts is being driven by financial targets and is separate from the “flattening,” said the people, who asked not to be identified discussing internal matters.

Meta, which has seen a slowdown in advertising revenue and has shifted focus to a virtual-reality platform called the metaverse, has been asking directors and vice presidents to make lists of employees that can be let go, the people said.

From wire reports