The Federal Reserve Open Market Committee (FOMC) released their decision earlier today and raised the federal funds rate by 75 bps to a range of 2.25-2.50%. Commentary from the news release reported a strong emphasis on elevated inflation due to continued supply and demand disruptions, higher energy prices and broader price pressures.

The Labor Department reported that<strong> initial jobless claims</strong> climbed last week to their highest level since November 13, 2021.The gain signals that labor market conditions may be cooling, although they are still at a healthy level. In recent weeks, tech companies including giants like Alphabet Inc. Google, Apple Inc., Meta Platforms Inc. and Microsoft Corp have said they will slow hiring due to global uncertainty. Claims in regular state programs increased 7,000 to 251,000 for the week ending July 16th, after reporting 244,000 initial claims the prior week. The increases in claims this week was heavily concentrated in Massachusetts with a gain of 14,100. The four-week moving average climbed to 240,500 from 236,000 the prior week. The total number of people continuing to receive regular ongoing state benefits, a report which is lagged one week, increased 51,000 to 1.384 million for the week ending July 9th.

After a successful debut in 2021, The Jackson T. Stephens Cup (The Stephens Cup), announced its field today for the second-year competition being held at Seminole Golf Club, Juno Beach, Florida October 9 -12.

Sales and Use Tax Refunding and Improvement Bonds, Series 2022 | $1,480,000 | 08/01/2022

Fox Motor Group LLC has expanded its holdings in southeast Michigan with the acquisition of three dealerships from Ken Garff Automotive LLC.

Lowell-based carrier J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc. exceeded analyst expectations in the second quarter as earnings jumped by 48.3% and revenue rose by 31.9%. All segments contributed to the revenue rise amid strong freight demand.

The earnings beat was driven by a lower-than-anticipated provision of $4.2 million for credit losses and stronger fee income of $38 million, according to Stephens analyst Matt Breese.