July 15 (Reuters) - U.S. economic activity increased slightly in recent weeks, employment rose, and companies and households indicated that inflation may have improved, the Federal Reserve said on Wednesday, in a report that will help shape the policy debate when Kevin Warsh leads his second interest rate-setting meeting in two weeks. Contacts generally expected the economy to continue to expand in...

03:18 PM EDT, 07/15/2026 (MT Newswires) -- Fed Chairman Kevin Warsh (voter) repeated that the FOMC will take ownership of inflation and take actions if needed to bring it back toward the 2% goal but did not provide forward guidance. Warsh again said that monetary policy caused inflation through its policy and that would not be the case under his...

LOS ANGELES, July 15 (Reuters) - The Port of Los Angeles, the busiest U.S. container seaport, said on Wednesday it set a June cargo record as shippers ranging from retailers to data center builders rushed in goods to avoid higher fuel costs and new U.S. import tariffs. The Southern California port handled 1,002,734 20-foot equivalent units (TEUs) last month, 12% more...

02:24 PM EDT, 07/15/2026 (MT Newswires) -- The US economy expanded at a slight to moderate pace in 11 of the 12 Federal Reserve districts, while the other district reported no change, the Federal Reserve's most recent Beige Book update released Wednesday showed. This was little changed from the previous Beige Book, the Fed said. Consumer spending was slightly higher,...