Month: May 2024

College protests continued across the country, resulting in escalating violence between pro-Palestinian encampments and counter-protesters. The movement calling for universities to divest financial support for Israel, which has affected dozens of campuses across America, has gone on for over two weeks now. Hundreds of arrests have been made and skirmishes have broken out between police and demonstrators, causing graduation ceremonies to be canceled, and universities forced to switch to remote learning, with access to campuses being restricted.

The Los Angeles Police Department said it has bene responding to UCLA at the ‘university’s request’ due to multiple acts of violence, with the university cancelling all classes until further notice.  Protest encampments at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Yale University and the University of Connecticut were also cleared out as of Tuesday, but encampments remain at more than 40 colleges nationwide.

At The City College of New York and Columbia University, the NYPD made at least 282 arrests, stemming from the breach of special police units at the now-occupied Hamilton Hall. Columbia has asked police to maintain a presence on campus until May 17, two days after commencement. The school said on Wednesday afternoon that all academic activities, including finals, for schools on the Morningside Heights campus will be fully remote for the remainder of the semester.  New York Mayor Eric Adams said in a briefing that while some students were involved in the occupation of Hamilton Hall at Columbia, they were “led by individuals not affiliated with the university.”

Editorial credit: Ringo Chiu / Shutterstock.com

On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve voted to keep interest rates steady and postponed anticipated rate cuts stemming from elevated inflation across the U.S., which remains above the central bank’s 2% threshold.

The Federal reserve’s Federal Open Market Committee said in a statement that the central bank left interest rates for overnight bank borrowing within a range of 5.25%-5.5%: “The economic outlook is uncertain, and the Committee remains highly attentive to inflation risks.”  In addition, with CPI inflation at 3.5%, the FOMC said, “In recent months, there has been a lack of further progress toward the Committee’s 2% inflation objective.”

Inflation has dropped dramatically from a high point of 9.1% annually to 2.7% as measured by the personal consumption expenditures, or PCE index. However, it remains more than a percentage point higher than the Fed’s target rate of 2%.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell said at a press conference in Washington D.C. on Wednesday: “So far the data has not given us that greater confidence. It is likely that gaining such greater confidence will take longer than previously expected.” While the possibility of an interest rate hike in the coming months was raised (before the central bank moves forward with cuts), Powell said: “It is unlikely that the next policy rate move will be a hike.”

Editorial credit: Domenico Fornas / Shutterstock.com