Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell emphasized his resolve to get inflation down, saying yesterday he won’t hesitate to continue interest rate increases until prices start falling back toward a healthy level.  “We will go until we feel we’re at a place where we can say financial conditions are in an appropriate place, and we see inflation coming down.”

Shares of Walmart are sharply lower after the company reported quarterly earnings that missed Wall Street’s expectations by a wide margin, as the nation’s largest retailer felt pressure from rising fuel costs and higher levels of inventory.  Walmart is a much-watched company as investors and economists look for clues about how the American consumer is weathering inflation.

Production at U.S. factories increased more than expected in April amid continued strong demand for motor vehicles and other goods, which should help to underpin manufacturing activity.  Manufacturing output increased 0.8% last month after a similar gain in March. But manufacturing, which accounts for 12% of the economy, faces challenges from renewed supply chain bottlenecks because of Russia's invasion of Ukraine and China's zero-tolerance COVID policy.