Based on the new data through September, the Social Security Administration’s final cost-of-living adjustment for Social Security beneficiaries will be 8.7%. That’s great news, but there may be tax consequences. 

U.S. consumer inflation excluding energy and food accelerated to a new four-decade high in September, a sign that strong and broad price pressures are persisting. The Labor Department on Thursday said that its so-called core consumer-price index — which excludes volatile energy and food prices — rose 6.6% in September from a year earlier, the biggest increase since August 1982. 

U.S. mortgage rates jumped to their highest level in more than two decades. The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate hit 6.92% last week, according to a survey of lenders released Thursday by mortgage giant Freddie Mac.

Global economic growth is likely to slow next year more than previously expected, the International Monetary Fund said, warning living conditions will worsen as soaring inflation harms people’s lives around the world. The IMF attributed the weaker outlook primarily to the effects of inflation, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the slowdown in China brought on by frequent Covid-19 lockdowns and problems in its property sector.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries slashed its forecasts for global economic growth and crude-oil demand, offering a justification for the cartel’s recent 2 million barrel-a-day supply cut that it said was part of ongoing efforts to balance oil markets.

The Biden administration is proposing a new rule that could put more gig workers on company payrolls, scrapping a Trump administration rule from 2021 that made it easier for firms to classify workers as independent contractors.

The U.S. dollar’s surging value relative to the euro, the Japanese yen, the British pound and other currencies is making foreign-made goods cheaper to import, while exports of U.S.-made goods grow more expensive for foreign buyers.

For the first time ever, U.S. national debt crossed above $31 trillion this month. The CBO’s preliminary deficit figures for the 2022 fiscal year, which ended September 30, show the federal budget shortfall fell by half. The CBO’s preliminary deficit figures for the 2022 fiscal year, which ended September 30, show the federal budget shortfall fell by half.