WASHINGTON — Hopes for interest rate cuts this year by the Federal Reserve are steadily fading, with a stream of recent remarks by Fed officials underscoring their intention to keep borrowing costs high as long as needed to curb persistently elevated inflation. A key reason for the delay in rate…

Walgreens announced Wednesday it would continue to cut prices on 1,300 items — making it the latest company to pivot to value amid signs U.S. consumers are experiencing spending fatigue. The pharmacy chain said in a statement announcing a ‘summer of savings’ that the lower prices were in response to…

After a brief pullback during much of May, mortgage rates began rising again last week. That had an immediate impact on what had been several weeks of strengthening mortgage demand. The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances ($766,550 or less) increased to 7.05% from…

American Eagle on Wednesday said it’s making gains in boosting profitability as it works to improve its product assortment and tweak operations. Still, its fiscal first-quarter sales came in weaker than Wall Street expected. While revenue came in slightly below estimates, it was 6% higher than the year ago period and…

Shares of U.S. Cellular popped nearly 6% Tuesday after T-Mobile announced that it plans to acquire most of the company, including the wireless operator’s stores, some of its spectrum assets and its customers in a deal worth $4.4 billion. The deal includes cash and up to $2 billion of debt, according to a press release…