Central Banks
Fed’s Higher-for-Longer Stance Hits Firms That Expected Rate Cut
- Central bank seen keeping rates at two-decade high this week
- Businesses are holding big purchases for foreseeable future
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American businesses and consumers started the year thinking interest rates would finally come down, making big plans to buy equipment or a house. Now all of that is on hold, slowing large swaths of the economy for the foreseeable future.
In Michigan, a maker of cutting tools has delayed as much as $1 million in spending this year on new equipment. In Atlanta, a woodworking machine maker says some customers are trying to extend the life of an apparatus.