Scott Horsley

Waller and his colleagues appear to be on track for another quarter point cut in interest rates at the next Fed meeting in about two weeks.

Scott Horsley, NPR News, Washington.

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell told a gathering of business economists today that the economic outlook doesn't appear to have changed much since he and his colleagues voted to cut interest rates by a quarter percentage point last month.

The job market's a little softer, inflation's a little higher.

Powell notes some key economic reports are being delayed, however, by the government shutdown.

This is the week when government number crunchers would ordinarily be tallying the number of new jobs added as well as the number of people who are unemployed.

Scott Horsley, NPR News, Washington.

A flurry of investment banking deals helped pad the profits of banks like JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, Wells Fargo, and Citigroup.

JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon says the U.S.

economy remained resilient during the most recent quarter, though he cautioned trade wars and big government deficits continue to make for a risky outlook.

President Trump is meeting this afternoon with Argentine President Javier Millet, a key ally.

The U.S.

has been working to prop up Argentina's sagging currency ahead of that country's midterm elections later this month.

And General Motors plans to take a $1.6 billion charge against earnings in its next quarter as it adjusts to new federal policies that are less friendly to electric vehicles.

Scott Horsley, NPR News, Washington.

All 12 voting members of the Fed's rate-setting committee voted to lower the Fed's benchmark interest rate last month.

Eleven voted for a quarter-point cut, which carried the day.

The newest member of the committee, White House economist Stephen Myron, voted for a bigger half-point cut.

Minutes reveal that a few Fed policymakers wanted to hold interest rates steady, or at least would have supported that position, out of concern over stubborn inflation.

The central bank's walking a tightrope as it tries to both tamp down prices and prop up the sagging job market.