AI & Enterprise

Remote work boosts birth and employment but jobs at risk, two sides of working from home

Working from home in the United States has moved beyond a temporary arrangement to become a new standard, with its share holding at about 26 percent over the past two years. Researchers and economists cite time savings, expanded employment including for disabled workers, and links to higher birth rates and improved air quality. At the same time, downtown economies have been hit and concerns are rising that fully remote office jobs could be more vulnerable to automation.

Finance

Fed may raise rates again as global central banks show signs of returning to tightening

Prospects are rising that the U.S. Federal Reserve could deliver another rate hike this year, while major central banks worldwide are also reinforcing a tightening stance. Over the past six months, 15 of 33 major central banks raised policy rates. Within the Fed, officials say inflation remains outside a controllable range. Mixed U.S. data have complicated the outlook, while markets largely expect no October move but see high odds of a hike in December.