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Downtown Detroit is experiencing a new wave of development. “Walking around Detroit in 2008 or 2009 is not the same as walking around in 2022,” said Ramy Habib, a local entrepreneur. “It is absolutely magnificent what happened throughout those 15 years.“ The Southeast Michigan Council of Governments reports that only 708 new housing structures were built in Detroit between 2010 and 2019. Many of the new construction projects are the result of philanthropic efforts by large local businesses. Ford Motor Company, for example, is in the process of constructing a 30-acre mixed-use development at Michigan Central Station. As the city fell into bankruptcy, the station sat abandoned for years.

Economists believe Detroit’s decline into insolvency is the result of globalization in the auto industry during the 20th century. During the most recent but controversial count by the United States Census, the city’s population decreased from 1.8 million to 639,000. “With the population leaving, with the infrastructure staying in place, it meant strains on the city. Cumulatively, they started to mount over time,” said Raymond Owens III, a former senior economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond. The Great Recession of 2007-2008 left scores of homes in foreclosure in the city. Since then, the U.S. Treasury Department has funded the removal of 15,000 blighted structures in the city. “A lot of Black people are leaving the city. So sometimes that identity can change and shift in certain communities,” said Alphonso Carlton Jr, a lifelong Detroit resident. Tax and spending policies have been used by local leaders to promote economic development downtown.

According to Fed Governor Michelle Bowman, the central bank will likely continue raising interest rates until inflation is under control. In its last two policy meetings, the Federal Reserve raised benchmark borrowing rates by 0.75 percentage points, the largest increase since 1994. The moves were intended to reduce inflation at its highest level in more than four decades. In addition to the hikes, the rate-setting Federal Open Market Committee indicated that “ongoing increases … will be appropriate,” a view Bowman said she endorses. “My view is that similarly sized increases should be on the table until we see inflation declining in a consistent, meaningful, and lasting way,” she added in prepared remarks in Colorado for the Kansas Bankers Association.

Bowman’s remarks are the first by a member of the Board of Governors since the FOMC approved the latest rate increase last week. According to multiple regional presidents, rates will continue to rise aggressively until inflation falls from its current rate of 9.1% annually. Based on Friday’s jobs report, which showed a 528,000 increase in jobs in July and a 5.2% rise in wages, both higher than expected, markets are pricing in a 68% chance of a third consecutive move of 0.75 percentage points in September, according to CME Group data. Bowman stated that she would closely monitor inflation data in the coming weeks to determine the precise amount at which rates should be raised. Despite this, she noted that the recent data cast doubt on hopes that inflation has peaked.

According to a memo obtained by CNBC, JPMorgan Chase has hired a Singapore-based quantum-computing expert to be its global head for quantum communications and cryptography. The memo from Marco Pistoia, head of the bank’s global technology applied research group, states that Charles Lim, an assistant professor at the National University of Singapore, will explore next-generation computing technology in secure communications. Pistoia describes Lim as a “recognized world leader” in quantum-powered communication networks.

Hired from IBM in early 2020, Pistoia established a JPMorgan team focused on quantum computing and other nascent technologies. Unlike today’s computers, which store information as either zeros or ones, quantum computing hinges on quantum physics. Instead of binary, qubits can simultaneously be a combination of zero and one, as well as any value in between. He added that dramatically advanced computing would transform drug development, materials science for batteries, and other areas. If advanced computing technology becomes a reality, the encryption techniques that are the foundation of global communications and financial networks could be rendered ineffective almost immediately. That has spurred the study of next-generation quantum-resistant communication networks, Lim’s area of expertise.

In preparation for tougher times, Goldman Sachs has slowed its hiring and is looking to reduce vendor fees. However, according to a person with knowledge of the matter, Goldman has another tool in its arsenal to control expenses: a possible return to year-end job cuts. It has long been a practice of Wall Street firms to weed out those they deem to be underperformers, often at the end of the year when they prepare to award their annual bonuses. Due to the pandemic, this annual exercise was paused as banks hired furiously to take advantage of a boom in deal activity. According to figures disclosed Monday, Goldman’s headcount increased by 15% to 47,000 employees in the past year alone. These workers may have been acquired, but they still represent a significant increase.

Wall Street’s leading investment bank is contemplating a return to its year-end ritual following a sharp decline in revenue related to debt and equity issuance. Employees often make up the single biggest line item regarding expenses at an investment bank. As of June 30, Goldman had set aside $7.78 billion for workers’ compensation and benefits, or half of its overall operating expenses. In a conference call with analysts on Monday, Denis Coleman, the firm’s Chief Financial Officer, stated that the firm would slow its hiring to replace those who leave and would “probably” reinstate performance reviews by the end of the year. That is “something that we suspended during the period of the pandemic for the most part,” he said.

At the central bank’s meeting later this month, Governor Christopher Waller said he is willing to consider what would be the most aggressive interest rate hike in decades. It is expected that Waller will support a 75 basis point hike at the meeting on July 26-27. However, he will be monitoring data and remaining open-minded regarding what the Fed should do to control inflation, which has been running at its fastest pace since 1981. The rate-setting Federal Open Market Committee approved a 75 basis point move in June, the largest one-month increase since 1994.

“I support another 75-basis point increase” at the next FOMC meeting, Waller said in remarks at an event in Victor, Idaho. “However, my base case for July depends on incoming data,” he added. “We have important data releases on retail sales and housing coming in before the July meeting. If that data comes in materially stronger than expected, it would make me lean towards a larger hike at the July meeting to the extent it shows demand is not slowing down fast enough to get inflation down.” Worries are mounting that the U.S. is headed for or already in a recession, but Waller said the strength of the jobs market has him “feeling fairly confident that the U.S. economy did not enter a recession in the first half of 2022 and that the economic expansion will continue.” Even with the Fed tightening, he said he thinks the economy can achieve a “soft landing” that won’t include a recession. U.S. GDP contracted 1.6% in the first quarter, and the Atlanta Fed’s GDPNow tracker indicates a 1.2% decline in Q2, meeting the rule-of-thumb definition of a recession.

On Friday, the Nasdaq Composite rose in choppy trading as investors responded to a stronger-than-expected jobs report that may keep the Federal Reserve on track for its aggressive rate increases. The Nasdaq gained 0.12% to settle at 11,635.31, while the S&P 500 dipped 0.08% to 3,899.38. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 46.40 points, or 0.15%, at 31,338.15. The Nasdaq has risen for five straight days for the first time this year. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday that nonfarm payrolls increased 372,000 in June, exceeding the Dow Jones estimate of 250,000 and continuing a strong year of employment growth.

For the week, all three major averages ended in positive territory. The jobs report and a recent decline in commodities prices have made a so-called “soft landing” for the U.S. economy a bit more likely, boosting stocks, said Yung-Yu Ma, chief investment strategist at BMO Wealth Management. Health care stocks were among the outperformers. Centene Corp. and McKesson rose more than 3%, while vaccine makers Moderna and Regeneron each added more than 2%. Electric automaker Tesla jumped 2.5%. Chipmakers and cyber security stocks also boosted the tech sector. ON Semiconductor rose 2.8%, while Fortinet gained 1.8%. Treasury yields jumped sharply after the jobs data was released, which may have limited stock gains. The 2-year Treasury yield held above the 10-year Treasury yield, an inversion many see as a recession indicator. Though the jobs report was a positive sign for the state of the U.S., many investors believe that will aggressively allow the Federal Reserve to fight inflation with rate hikes in the coming months.

As the market prepares to close out the worst first half of the year since 1970, stocks fluctuated on Wednesday, following a failed attempt by the major averages to bounce earlier in the day. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished the day up 82.32 points, or 0.27%, to 31,029.31, while the other benchmarks closed slightly in the red. The S&P 500 slipped 0.07% to 3,818.83, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite inched lower by 0.03% to 11,177.89.

Investors continued their search for the bottom of a vicious market sell-off as the second quarter ended Thursday. Fears of a recession are growing due to concerns about a slowing economy and aggressive rate hikes in the first half of 2022. “We expect significant volatility this summer, with ‘face-ripping’ short-covering rallies followed by economically-inspired market slumps,” Wells Fargo senior equity analyst Christopher Harvey said in a note Wednesday. “While a much anticipated market ‘washout’ could catalyze a more sustained move higher, we think the market will not sustain a rally until it believes the Fed will toggle from a 50-75bp tightening to a more mundane 25bp increase.” The S&P 500, down about 20% in 2022, is on pace for its worst first half of the year since 1970, when the index lost 21.01%. Meanwhile, on a quarterly basis, both the Dow and S&P 500 are on track for their worst performance since 2020. The Nasdaq is headed toward its worst three-month period since 2008. On Wednesday, General Mills shares rose about 6.4% after the company topped earnings and revenue forecasts for its most recent quarter. Shares of Goldman Sachs added nearly 1.3% after Bank of America upgraded them to a buy and said the bank would thrive even in an economic slowdown.

Shares of HP Inc. on Thursday soared higher after Securities and Exchange Commission filings revealed that billionaire investor Warren Buffet had built a $4.2 billion stake in the Pc and printer maker. According to the SEC filings published late Wednesday, Berkshire Hathaway BRK, an investment group, now owns an 11.4% stake in the Palo Alto, California-based group. The move adds to Buffet’s recent buying after new stakes in oil major Occidental petroleum.

Buffet lamented that few companies or deals were able to pique his interest as Berkshire Hathaway posted record fourth-quarter earnings this year and bought back $27 billion in stock over the whole of 2021. Since then, however, the billionaire cautioned that stock buybacks would slow considerably this year to just $1.2 billion, suggesting the Sage of Omaha may be tempted to put his $146.7 billion cash pile to work in finding more companies. Shares of the Pc and printer maker were marked 15.27% higher in pre-market trading to indicate an opening bell price of $40.24 each. The company, in the spring of 2020, beat back a $35 billion hostile takeover bid from Xerox (XRX) and has now added video and audio devices maker poly to its stable last month in a deal valued at $3.3 billion, including debt, as it looks to expand product offerings to take advantage of the global shift towards hybrid work.

President of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, Neel Kashkari, stated Friday that the central bank must follow through on its rate-raising guidance and balance-sheet reduction plans, which have already caused higher borrowing costs in the longer term. “At a minimum, the [Federal Open Market Committee] must follow through on the forward guidance of federal funds rate increases and balance sheet reduction that we have already signaled in order to validate the repricing that has taken place in financial markets,” Mr. Kashkari said in an essay published by his bank on Friday.

Mr. Kashkari’s comments follow the FOMC’s meeting this week, during which officials raised their target rate by a half percentage point and signaled more similar actions to come. Additionally, the Fed stated that it would gradually reduce its balance sheet beginning in June. As a result of the Fed’s actions and possible future moves, the inflation level will be lowered to 2%. At present, Mr. Kashkari is not a voting member of the FOMC. The Fed’s easy money policies have generally supported him, but he has joined his colleagues in advocating rate increases to bring inflation back to more acceptable levels.