This Week: Consumer prices, Fed meeting minutes and earnings reports from several big banks

Federal Reserve Board Chair Jerome Powell speaks at the Business, Government and Society Forum at Stanford University in Stanford, Calif., Wednesday, April 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

A look at some of the key business events and economic indicators upcoming this week

INFLATION BAROMETER

The Labor Department releases its March report on consumer prices Wednesday.

Analysts expect inflation at the consumer level rose 3.4% in March from a year earlier. That would be the biggest 12-month increase in consumer prices since December. Inflation has been cooling, but only gradually and fitfully following a string of interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve aimed at easing inflation back to the central bank’s 2% target level.

Consumer price index, annual percent change, not seasonally adjusted:

Oct. 3.2

Nov. 3.1

Dec. 3.4

Jan. 3.1

Feb. 3.2

March (est.) 3.4

Source: FactSet

FED CLOSE-UP

The Federal Reserve delivers the minutes from its most recent interest rate policy meeting Wednesday.

At that meeting last month, Fed officials kept their benchmark rate unchanged for a fifth straight time and signaled that they still expected to cut the rate three times in 2024, despite signs that inflation remained elevated at the start of the year. Fed officials noted they still project inflation to continue to cool, though more gradually than they thought just a few months ago.

BIG BANK EARNINGS

Several banking giants are set to report their latest financial results Friday, ushering in the start of a busy earnings season.

JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup and Wells Fargo will all report quarterly results. Big banks have been raking in hefty profits as consumer keep spending and putting more and more expenses on their credit cards. The lenders’ latest reports may give investors more insight into consumer health, lending levels and credit habits.