Jerome Powell, chair of the Federal Reserve, said a solid economy with low unemployment, robust consumer spending and strengthening business investment gave the central bank room to take its time in cutting interest rates.

“The economy is not sending any signals that we need to be in a hurry to lower rates,” Powell said in Dallas on Thursday. “The strength we are currently seeing in the economy gives us the ability to approach our decisions carefully.”

The Fed is trying to navigate a complicated moment. The economy remains healthy overall, but the job market has slowed over the past year. Inflation also has been cooling steadily. Between the two developments, central bankers have decided that they no longer need to tap the brakes on the economy quite so hard.

After lifting interest rates sharply in 2022 and 2023 in a bid to cool the economy and wrestle rapid inflation back under control, they have begun to lower borrowing costs in recent months.

But officials still want to make sure that they fully stamp out rapid inflation. Price increases have cooled substantially from their 2022 peak, but they have not completely returned to the central bank’s 2% goal. Prices climbed 2.1% in the year through September, and are on track to come in a bit above that in October, based on other recent data reports.

Powell made it clear that Fed officials expected to see limited progress on inflation in the next few months.

“Core measures of goods and services inflation, excluding housing, fell rapidly over the past two years and have returned to rates closer to those consistent with our goals,” he said. “We expect that these rates will continue to fluctuate in their recent ranges.”

The Onion buys Alex Jones’ Infowars with top auction bid

The satirical news publication The Onion won the bidding for Alex Jones’ Infowars at a bankruptcy auction, backed by families of Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting victims whom Jones owes more than $1 billion in defamation judgments for calling the massacre a hoax.

“The dissolution of Alex Jones’ assets and the death of Infowars is the justice we have long awaited and fought for,” Robbie Parker, whose daughter Emilie was killed in the 2012 shooting in Connecticut, said in a statement provided by his lawyers.

The Onion acquired the conspiracy theory platform’s website; social media accounts; studio in Austin, Texas; trademarks; and video archive. The sale price was not immediately disclosed. The Onion said its “exclusive launch advertiser” will be the gun violence prevention organization Everytown for Gun Safety.

The Infowars website appeared to have been taken down Thursday. Jones was angry and defiant as he broadcast live with Donald Trump ally Steve Bannon, vowing to challenge the sale and the auction process in court. Jones said he would move to a new studio, websites and social media accounts that already were set up.

Ford to pay up to $165M for moving too slowly on recall

Ford Motor Co. will pay a penalty of up to $165 million to the U.S. government for moving too slowly on a recall and failing to give accurate recall information.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says in a statement Thursday that the civil penalty is the second-largest in its 54-year history. Only the fine Takata paid for faulty air bag inflators was higher.

The agency says Ford was too slow to recall vehicles with faulty rearview cameras, and it failed to give the agency complete information, which is required by the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Act.

Ford agreed to a consent order with the agency that includes a payment of $65 million, and $45 million in spending to comply with the law. An additional $55 million will be deferred.

“Timely and accurate recalls are critical to keeping everyone safe on our roads,” NHTSA Deputy Administrator Sophie Shulman said in the statement. “When manufacturers fail to prioritize the safety of the American public and meet their obligations under federal law, NHTSA will hold them accountable.”

Compiled from New York Times and Associated Press reports.