Remy Blaire brings the latest business headlines from the floor of the New York Stock Exchange as markets open for trading Thursday, February 29.
Full Video Transcript Below:
REMY BLAIRE: I’m Remy Blaire - reporting from the New York Stock Exchange. Here’s what we’re watching on TheStreet today.
Wall Street is looking ahead to a big lineup of Fed speakers Friday. Traders will be paying close attention to the comments for hints into the Federal Reserve’s next interest rate decision. Ahead of the speakers, Fed Governor Michelle Bowman reiterated that it’s still too soon to cut interest rates as inflation remains above the targeted 2 percent. Markets are now pricing in a 22 percent chance of a rate cut in May.
In other news - Americans on the hunt for a new car are finally getting a break. After almost three years of increasing sticker prices, the cost of a new vehicle is slowly cooling, and in some cases, falling.
According to Edmunds.com, the average price for a new vehicle in the U.S. fell to $47,338 in January 2024 - a 1.2 percent year-over-year drop, and down almost 2.5 percent from December 2022 prices.
One of the biggest factors is inventory. After years of low supply, car dealerships finally have enough vehicles to keep up with demand.
According to Cox Automotive, dealerships had a collective 2.61 million new cars, trucks, and S.U.V’s on their lots at the end of January 2024. That’s about 900,000 more vehicles than dealers had at the same time in 2023. However, inventories are still nowhere near pre-pandemic levels, which reached roughly 4 million.
That’ll do it for your daily briefing. From the New York Stock Exchange, I’m Remy Blaire with TheStreet.
