Category Archives: Progress

(Starfield screenshot)

Ive spent roughly 20 hours on Starfield at the time of this review, which is nowhere near enough to feel like Ive got a proper handle on it. With a lot of other games this year, reaching the 20-hour mark would put me at, past, or near their end, but Starfield is clearly just getting started.

Starfield is the most self-consciously big role-playing game yet from Bethesda Softworks, a Microsoft subsidiary and the Maryland-based studio behind similarly big RPGs such as Skyrim, Oblivion, and Fallout 3 & 4.

The common thread between Bethesdas games is they technically do have endings, but in a real sense, theyre only over when you decide to stop playing. In a Bethesda RPG, there will always be one more choice to make, faction to join (or betray), cave to explore, or monster to fight, and a single run isnt enough to see everything it has to offer.

Starfield is deliberately cut from the same cloth, to the point where its own director has called the game Skyrim in space. If youve ever played an Elder Scrolls game or any of the last few Fallouts, Starfield will feel familiar from the moment you take control of your character. Ten minutes in, I was walking around a crowded locker room and realized there was nothing to stop me from filling my inventory with 120 pounds of soap and whiteboard markers. This is classic Bethesda loot gremlin behavior.

Starfields big addition to that formula comes from its sense of scale. It feels a little bigger every time I sit down to play it, particularly when Im out exploring its vision of the universe. There are a few parts of the game that do feel like Bethesdas copying off its own worksheet, but when Starfields in a position to deliver on its core premise, its a solidly addictive RPG.

Starfield is set in the 24th century, 100 years after humanity has abandoned an uninhabitable Earth. Humans live throughout the Settled Systems, a loose network of planetary nations, and have stopped exploring any farther into space than what they already control.

At the start of the game, youre some random blue-collar dope whos taken a mining job out on the edge of explored space. On your first day, you dig up a chunk of a mysterious artifact, which changes your life on the spot.

Soon, youre offered a membership in Constellation, a small independent group thats out to reignite humanitys love of exploration. Youre given a ship, some crew, and a mission: help Constellation find the remaining pieces of the artifact.

Youre also entirely free to ignore that mission, however, in favor of doing whatever you want. For me that has included bounty hunting, debt collection, setting up remote mining outposts on unsettled planets, a little smuggling, some freelance security work, and a disturbing number of open gun battles with both space pirates and crooked mercenaries.

In my time with Starfield, it has seemed like everyone Ive talked to has a job for me, whether its breaking into an impound yard or a hostage rescue. At one point, I was actually trying to pursue the main story missions, and I still ended up in a fight with a bunch of thugs who were looting a biotech laboratory. It had nothing to do with what I was on that planet to accomplish. It just sort of happened.

(Related pro-tip: Starfield, like Fallout, doesnt have any systems like level scaling to keep you from blundering into parts of the universe you arent supposed to be in yet. Do yourself a favor: whenever youre in town, buy all of the medical supplies and Ship Parts you can find. You never know when Starfield will suddenly decide its time for you to get in over your head.)

At the same time, theres just enough detail in Starfields universe that Ive often gone exploring just for the sake of learning more about it. Even the most barren moons in its universe often have a few mystery features, like an abandoned lab or smugglers cache, that reward you for taking a long stroll across the surface. Of my 20 hours in-game so far, at least one of them was spent just walking around the city of New Atlantis, listening to ambient conversations, finding new stores, and learning more details about the settings history.

Starfieldis a game where its themes and mechanics have been made to match. Its a massive, sprawling universe, andStarfields at its best when youre simply out on your own, doing your own thing, seeing what Bethesdas vision of space has to offer.

Its at its worst, however, when it actually does feel like its just Skyrim or Fallout in space. The ground combat in particular feels cut-and-pasted from any given Fallout game, with space pirates instead of Super Mutants and slightly different guns. Its not bad, just sort of dull. Every time a gunfight starts in Starfield, I want to end it as fast as possible so I can get back to whatever Im actually trying to do.

My other initial complaints mostly boiled down to being on the low end of Starfields learning curve. It throws a lot at you from the start ground fighting, spaceflight, outpost construction, research projects, gastronomy and I kept losing a few early fights before figuring out what I was doing wrong. Starship combat was a particular issue at first, but a few upgrades and a little practice eventually sorted that out.

Theres a lot riding on Starfield that has little to do with the game itself particularly its status as a legal football in Microsofts battle with the Federal Trade Commission. On June 30, court testimony revealed that in 2021 Microsoft bought ZeniMax Media, Bethesdas parent company, specifically to keep Sony, a prime competitor, from making Starfield a console-exclusive for the PlayStation 5.

As a result, Starfield is a hot topic in the ongoing social-media flame wars between PlayStation and Xbox fans, particularly since another major Xbox exclusive, Redfall, was a critical failure upon its May release.

Is Starfield the killer app that analysts argue the Xbox platform needs right now? The jurys still out. Its up against some strong competition in the RPG space, between the recent Baldurs Gate 3, indie RPGs like Sea of Stars, and other big games from this summer such as Final Fantasy XVI.

This year has been an absolute murderers row for the gaming calendar, and its not even September. Starfields a good game and runs fine on Xbox Series X, but its heading into a packed field.

What I can say is Starfield is better than I expected, after bouncing off a couple of Elder Scrolls games. Its got the same sprawling, free-form depth as Bethesdas earlier RPGs, but puts it all together with unique visuals, an interesting new universe, and a lot of room to tell your characters unique story. Its worth checking out, as long as youve got a couple of hundred hours to kill.

Starfield is out Sept. 6 for PC, Xbox Series X|S, and the Xbox Game Pass. Players who pre-ordered the game can start playing the full version on Sept. 1.

[Bethesda PR provided a digital code for the Xbox version of Starfield for the purposes of this article.]

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Review in progress: 'Starfield' takes the 'Skyrim' formula out into the ... - GeekWire

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Falmouth Water Quality Committee Making Progress On Ocean Outfall - CapeNews.net

YOUNGSTOWN Talks resumed between the Youngstown City School District and striking Youngstown Education Association on Wednesday, and it seems some progress was made.

Were still hoping something good could happen, but its going very slowly, said YEA spokesman Jim Courim.

The talks were scheduled from 1 to 5 p.m. but the two sides met past beyond that to about 8 p.m., with Courim saying some progress was made.

The union has been on strike since last Wednesday after membership voted overwhelmingly in favor of the strike on Aug. 21.

The school district filed a complaint with the State Employment Relations Board last week, contending that the strike was unauthorized under Ohio law because the union had not engaged in the fact-finding process generally required in collective bargaining.

On Friday, however, SERB ruled that the unions contract allows it to bypass that fact-finding process. Teachers returned to the picket lines on Monday.

At a special meeting Friday evening, the board of education stated that it would resume negotiations with YEA, and earlier this week promised 14 hours between Wednesday and the end of this week.

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Youngstown schools, teachers make progress on negotiations ... - Youngstown Vindicator

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Cabell County Schools students show progress, according to state ... - Huntington Herald Dispatch

DECATUR A prototype of a revolutionary new, all-in-one, autonomous farming machine made its North American debut at the Farm Progress Show this week.

The NEXAT machine is the worlds first and only holistic plant production system, according to its North American marketer Terrakamp.

So the NEXAT is the name of the main machine, and it's multiple machines in one, said Samantha Jandrisch, director of communications and marketing with Terrakamp. The idea is it's a wide-span carrier unit that's 50 feet wide that attaches to multiple implements that will complete all phases of farming, from ground preparation to planting to spraying to tillage. Any application you use can be modularly attached and interchangeably used with this carrier unit.

Jandrisch and other Terrakamp officials say their machine could one day change what farming looks like.

It's revolutionary in the fact that we're kind of rethinking the way that we farm, Jandrisch said. The modular interchangeable application is in itself such a value, you know, not having to have more than one tractor unit for all those different implements is just in itself revolutionary. But really, what's behind it is what we call wideband controlled traffic farming.

The 45-foot distance in between the tracks implements are attached to is never compacted, Jandrisch said, since the same tracks are being used on each side for every phase a farmer goes through their field.

Minimizing soil compaction can help revitalize the soil and lead to better harvests, she said.

Jandrisch said that although the NEXAT is still being tested and is not yet on the market, it received lots of positive feedback at this weeks show.

Matt Ochsner, one of the farmers helping to test and give feedback on the prototypes, said the NEXAT might also help farmers address labor shortages.

We're trying to not necessarily get rid of labor but find a better way to utilize our labor, Ochsner said. We don't have it, so we can't really get rid of it. On a farm, that's the biggest struggle right now is finding help. There just aren't very many of us left.

Outfitted with autonomous technology, the NEXAT could shake up the ag industry, Ochsner said.

From an economic point of view, it's nice to have a different competitor other than Deere or Case, he said. It's nice to see something that could change the industry like Precision Planting did. I dont know if were quite there yet, but it's a different concept. It's a little bit futuresque.

Vince Herman, a farmer from Edgerton, Ohio, said the technology was way ahead of my time.

It's remarkable, the engineering into something like this, Herman said.

What might be even more remarkable, he said, is how much farming has changed during his lifetime.

Alongside the line fence, they got really nice old tractors, just for instance, Herman said. Its not like Im picking on todays tractors. Im just saying, from all that stuff out there, I grew up with all of those tractors. Ill tell you, it's a lifetime of changing. Coming to this thing? This blows my mind.

1990: Farm Progress Show host family Lisa, Ida Kay, Richard and Craig Boggs size up this year's show in Amana, Iowa.

1978: An FS Services representative explained to viewers just how these micromini tractors were modified to compete in pulls at the Farm Progress Show.

JIM BOWLING, HERALD & REVIEW Central Progress Avenue is pictured from a helicopter tour vantage point during the second day of the Farm Progress Show Wednesday.

JIM BOWLING, HERALD & REVIEW Progress City is pictured from a helicopter tour vantage point during the second day of the Farm Progress Show Wednesday.

Taron Freeman wears promotional bags around his neck while visiting the Farm Progress Show with fellow Stevenson School sixth graders during a field trip in August. The Howard G. Buffett Foundation provided funds to allow all Decatur Public School sixth-grade classes to experience the event. On Monday, Decatur school officials announced that Buffett would provide $1.6 million to fund a new agriculture academy.

Brandt Group of Companies shows off its agricultural augers at the 2017 Farm Progress Show in Decatur.

JIM BOWLING, HERALD & REVIEW Ray Ainsworth conducts a horse training session.

U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue, middle right, chats with attendees in the Archer Daniels Midland Co. tent.

CLAY JACKSON, HERALD & REVIEW Larry Ring checks out a 1932 Ford that was on display at the O'Reilly Booth Wednesday during the 2017 Farm Progress Show site at Progress City USA in Decatur. Ring is from Effingham.

CLAY JACKSON, HERALD & REVIEW The crowd listens to country singer Easton Corbin Wednesday during the 2017 Farm Progress Show site at Progress City USA in Decatur. The concert is sponsored by Ram Trucks and was free to the public.

Exhibitors and attendees talk in the DuPont Pioneer tent during the second day of the Farm Progress Show Aug. 30 in Decatur.

Attendees walk on West Progress Avenue at Progress City, as viewed from the top of the grain bin at the Chief Agri Industrial Division exhibit, during the 2013 Farm Progress Show in Decatur.

Contact Taylor Vidmar at (217) 421-6949. Follow her on Twitter: @taylorvidmar11.

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'Revolutionary' all-in-one farming machine debuts at Farm Progress - The Pantagraph

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Submitted by Logitech

LAUSANNE, Switzerland and SAN JOSE, Calif.,August 31, 2023 /CSRwire/- Logitech International (SIX: LOGN) (Nasdaq: LOGI) published its Fiscal Year 2023 Impact Report detailing the Companys progress toward its sustainability commitments. Logitech is dedicated to removing more carbon than it produces, aiming to achieve climate positive by 2030. Since 2019, Logitech has reduced Scope 1 and 2 emissions by more than 56% and its carbon intensity has decreased by 74%. Scope 3 value chain emissions have reduced by more than 21% since 2021.

As part of our long-term journey toward climate positivity, our 15th Impact Report illustrates how our teams, including our value chain partners, are making meaningful progress on lifecycle carbon reductions, said Prakash Arunkundrum, chief operating officer at Logitech. Our Design for Sustainability approach continues to scale, accelerating the transition to lower impact materials and circular alternatives across our product portfolio.

Designing for Sustainability is a catalyst for reducing negative environmental impact and elevating social impact. Because sourcing materials and the manufacturing of Logitech products comprises 65% of the companys entire carbon footprint, moving to renewable energy, partnering with suppliers, and focusing on removing and reducing hidden impacts early in the design process are critical to achieving the companys climate goals. Highlights from this year's report include the following:

The programs across Logitech aim to advance the positive impact we can have on individuals, communities, and society, said Kirsty Russell, head of people and culture at Logitech. In particular, we have taken an accelerated approach to addressing the barriers that keep people from accessing inclusive technology. Creating programs that challenge existing stereotypes and enable all people to work, create, and play will make everyone successful.

Logitechs FY23 Impact Report was developed with reference to the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) standards, the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) standard, recommendations outlined by the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD), and in alignment with the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC) and UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

More information on these and other sustainability accomplishments can be found in the FY23 full report. Learn more about all of Logitechs sustainability initiatives and commitments on the website at Logitech.com/sustainability.

About Logitech

Logitech helps all people pursue their passions and is committed to doing so in a way that is good for people and the planet. We design hardware and software solutions that help businesses thrive and bring people together when working, creating, gaming and streaming. Brands of Logitech include Logitech, Logitech G, ASTRO Gaming, Streamlabs, Blue Microphones and Ultimate Ears.

Founded in 1981, and headquartered in Lausanne, Switzerland, Logitech International is a Swiss public company listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange (LOGN) and on the Nasdaq Global Select Market (LOGI). Find Logitech at http://www.logitech.com, the company blog or @logitech.

Logitech and other Logitech marks are trademarks or registered trademarks of Logitech Europe S.A. and/or its affiliates in the U.S. and other countries. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. For more information about Logitech and its products, visit the companys website at http://www.logitech.com

# # #

Editorial Contacts: Marie Perriard, Head of Sustainability Communications - USA mperriard@logitech.com Nicole Kenyon, Head of Global Corporate & Employee Communications - USA (510) 988-8553 Ben Starkie, Corporate Communications - Europe +41 (0) 79-292-3499

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Logitech designs products that have an everyday place in people's lives, connecting them to the digital experiences they care about. More than 35 years ago, Logitech started connecting people through computers, and now its a multi-brand company designing products that bring people together through music, gaming, video, and computing. Brands of Logitech includeLogitech,Logitech G,ASTRO Gaming,Streamlabs,Ultimate Ears,Jaybird, andBlue Microphones. Founded in 1981, and headquartered in Lausanne, Switzerland, Logitech International is a Swiss public company listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange (LOGN) and on the Nasdaq Global Select Market (LOGI). Find Logitech atwww.logitech.com, thecompany blog, or@Logitech.

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CSRWire - Designing for Sustainability Drives Progress Along ... - CSRwire.com

By ILSA MINOR

Escanaba Daily Press

ESCANABA A group of Delta County residents circulating petitions to recall three county commissioners is making progress towards their goal despite obstacles that delayed their ability to collect signatures.

We are recalling the three of them because they show a pattern of unethical behavior, said Christiana Reynolds, who serves as a spokesperson for the Delta County Citizens for Ethical Leadership. Its a pattern of unethical behavior, and thats whats so frustrating about it. If we had hope that there was going to be any kind of changes, we wouldnt be in this recall situation. We dont have any sort of confidence that well see any change of behavior or apologies or anything different from what weve already seen, which is, in our opinion, unacceptable behavior in our leadership.

The Citizens for Ethical Leadership are seeking the removal of commissioners Bob Barron, of District 3; Bob Petersen, of District 5; and Commission Chair Dave Moyle, of District 4. While the recall language on the petitions being circulated specifically references the commissioners votes to terminate former Delta County Administrator Emily DeSalvo on Feb. 7, Reynolds sees DeSalvos firing as a flash point for citizens, many of whom were unhappy with the commissioners prior to February.

With Emilys termination out of the blue, that was the straw that broke the camels back. That was sort of the catalyst that brought everyone together and we said, OK, we have to be serious about this and thats when we formed, said Reynolds.

As of Friday, roughly 40% of the 666 signatures needed to place Moyles name on the May 2024 ballot and 45% of the 1,001 signatures needed to do the same for Barron have been collected. Signature collection has not yet started for District 5, but the Citizens for Ethical Leadership plan to start collecting during Escanabas Labor Day festivities.

Were one recall effort, but because were tackling three different areas we wanted to break us up into three different teams, and so each team got together separately and decided what their strategy was, like what works best for their area, said Reynolds, who noted that all three district teams will be collecting during the Labor Day events.

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Progress made on county board recall petitions | News, Sports, Jobs - Marquette Mining Journal

The Office of Management and Budget has provided quarterly updates to the Presidents Management Agenda and shared progress on the second PMA priority, which seeks to transform federal service delivery and customer experience.

The implementation leads for the second priority offered updates on efforts to reimagine federal government services, particularly in the areas of high-impact service providers and life experience projects, according to a Performance.gov blog post published Wednesday.

According to the report, 26 of the 35 HISPs are publicly reporting data on their public interactions to improve accountability and that some HISPs, including the Social Security Administration and the Department of Health and Human Services, have made strides when it comes to delivering services to citizens.

HHS, for instance, performed prototyping and user interviews to help inform changes to Medicare.gov.

Two life experience projects reportedly achieved milestones, one of which is via the Navigating Transition to Civilian Life life experience. Under the Prototyping integrated transition planning support for Service members project, the Department of Veterans Affairs is developing prototypes and minimum viable products for a shared software meant to help former service personnel access their benefits.

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OMB's Quarterly PMA Update Underscores Progress in Federal ... - Executive Gov

Sometimes when its hot, when the road is long and the hills are high and the path is uneven, all a runner can do is just keep going. Its all about making progress.

As the 2023 season gets rolling, thats the mindset the Baylor cross country team is carrying.

I believe both of our finishes at conference and at regionals were higher than the year before, said Hayden Gold, a junior for the BU women That was really encouraging to see how our team was progressing. Honestly, we do have a couple more competitors coming into our conference this year, so itll be interesting to see how they match up against the Big 12, the existing Big 12 teams.

Indeed, the Bears have made incremental steps of forward progress as they go into their third season under head coach David Barnett. In the closing meet of the 2022 season at the NCAA South Central Regionals, the Baylor men charged to a seventh-place finish in that fierce field, the programs best regional showing since placing fifth in 2016. The BU women sprung forward to an eighth-place regional finish, the Bears best since 2017, when they were third.

Now its time to pick up the pace again.

In year three, you want to just keep making progress conference-level progress; regional progress; hopefully have some people go to nationals, Barnett said. Last year, we had a couple of people that were all-region for the first time. We just want to keep making progress. And after the first meet or two, youll have a better idea specifically what people are capable of.

Three BU runners reached that all-region standard last season, two on the mens side in Ryan Day and Drew Snyder and one for the women in Ellie Hodge. Only Snyder among that trio has not exhausted his eligibility. But a ravenous group of freshmen has joined the program hungry to prove themselves, freshman 15 be damned.

They all have a sense of urgency, Barnett said. They know that their best opportunities are going to be early in the season. And if they want to have more, they have to make the most of these. Theyre all testing the waters with the upperclassmen and seeing where they are. And Ive been really pleased with their efforts so far.

For the BU women, veterans like Gold, seniors Lily Williams and Anna Garner, and juniors Cate Urbani and Jordan Ledington will act as the trail blazers. But they should be pushed by a five-member freshman group, headlined by San Antonio Reagans Kira Dieterich, who finished second at the Class 6A state meet two seasons ago, and Live Oaks Kat Helmer, who twice led the Lady Falcons to TAPPS team state titles.

Theyre very hungry, Gold said of the freshmen. Theyre very driven to succeed, so Im looking forward to getting to know them a little bit more, competing against them in practice and having them on the line with me in races.

Snyder, a junior from Lincoln, Neb., returns to forge the path for the BU men after striding to a 24th-place at last years regional meet. Hell share leadership duties with graduate senior Ryan Hodge, who is coming off a solid track season in the spring in which he was the silver medalist in the 10,000 at the Texas Relays and charged to an all-conference showing in that race at the Big 12 meet.

I think we're really excited, Hodge said. We have younger group coming in, kind of lost a lot of older guys and I'm kind of one of the few older guys left on the team. So, it's fun to kind of step into more of already was in a leadership role, but it feels like even maybe more so this year of just trying to lead by example. And younger guys are also hungry and really invested, and they came in in good shape and their workouts have been really good. So, it's been exciting to see.

Four freshmen will join the Bear ranks for the mens team: Kanalu Wong of San Antonio Reagan, Aiden Ramshaw of Katy Tompkins, Straton Miller of The Woodlands and Nolan Keenan of San Antonio Alamo Heights. Hodge and Barnett both stated that they think several of the freshmen will be able to contribute right away. But as someone who has stood in their running flats before, Hodge wasnt about to put too much pressure on them.

Freshman year, at the end of the day, you just want to stay healthy, and that's really all you want to do the first semester, Hodge said. You have so many changes going on with coming to school, moving away from your parents and just getting adjusted to the Division I cross country level, which is just different from high school. So, I think that's what Connor Laktastic (from Baylors 2020 squad), he was one of the old runners on my team a year older than me, graduated a few years ago, but he always would tell the freshmen just be like all you want to stay healthy. And the more I've gone through it, the more I'm like that's exactly what you want to do.

So, if you can come away without an injury and have a solid block of training in the fall leading you into a good track season, then I think that's the best freshman year you could ask for.

Baylors opening meet arrives Friday with the UIW Twilight Meet, hosted by Incarnate Word in San Antonio. Itll be something of a soft opening, as the women will run a 4K and the men a 6K, shorter distances than a typical meet. Barnett called it a rust-buster, a chance to start determining the pecking order for future, more competitive meets.

The meet also offers up a different schedule than most cross country outings, with an 8:50 p.m. start time, hence the twilight in the name. While Gold joked that the meet would begin after her bedtime, the runners were mostly looking forward to the opportunity to potentially compete in cooler temperatures and with more fans in attendance.

All in all, theyre looking to put their best foot forward, and make steady progress not just Friday but throughout the 2023 campaign.

For now, its more process-oriented goals, Barnett said. Year two was better than year one for me. Year three, I think, will be better. I think everyones just kind of trending in the right direction. Bottom line is you just want to be more competitive than you were the year before.

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Baylor cross country preview: Bears' process revolves around ... - Waco Tribune-Herald

Good morning. At last year's Jackson Hole symposium, I delivered a brief, direct message. My remarks this year will be a bit longer, but the message is the same: It is the Fed's job to bring inflation down to our 2 percent goal, and we will do so. We have tightened policy significantly over the past year. Although inflation has moved down from its peaka welcome developmentit remains too high. We are prepared to raise rates further if appropriate, and intend to hold policy at a restrictive level until we are confident that inflation is moving sustainably down toward our objective.

Today I will review our progress so far and discuss the outlook and the uncertainties we face as we pursue our dual mandate goals. I will conclude with a summary of what this means for policy. Given how far we have come, at upcoming meetings we are in a position to proceed carefully as we assess the incoming data and the evolving outlook and risks.

The Decline in Inflation So Far The ongoing episode of high inflation initially emerged from a collision between very strong demand and pandemic-constrained supply. By the time the Federal Open Market Committee raised the policy rate in March 2022, it was clear that bringing down inflation would depend on both the unwinding of the unprecedented pandemic-related demand and supply distortions and on our tightening of monetary policy, which would slow the growth of aggregate demand, allowing supply time to catch up. While these two forces are now working together to bring down inflation, the process still has a long way to go, even with the more favorable recent readings.

On a 12-month basis, U.S. total, or "headline," PCE (personal consumption expenditures) inflation peaked at 7 percent in June 2022 and declined to 3.3 percent as of July, following a trajectory roughly in line with global trends (figure 1, panel A).1 The effects of Russia's war against Ukraine have been a primary driver of the changes in headline inflation around the world since early 2022. Headline inflation is what households and businesses experience most directly, so this decline is very good news. But food and energy prices are influenced by global factors that remain volatile, and can provide a misleading signal of where inflation is headed. In my remaining comments, I will focus on core PCE inflation, which omits the food and energy components.

On a 12-month basis, core PCE inflation peaked at 5.4 percent in February 2022 and declined gradually to 4.3 percent in July (figure 1, panel B). The lower monthly readings for core inflation in June and July were welcome, but two months of good data are only the beginning of what it will take to build confidence that inflation is moving down sustainably toward our goal. We can't yet know the extent to which these lower readings will continue or where underlying inflation will settle over coming quarters. Twelve-month core inflation is still elevated, and there is substantial further ground to cover to get back to price stability.

To understand the factors that will likely drive further progress, it is useful to separately examine the three broad components of core PCE inflationinflation for goods, for housing services, and for all other services, sometimes referred to as nonhousing services (figure 2).

Core goods inflation has fallen sharply, particularly for durable goods, as both tighter monetary policy and the slow unwinding of supply and demand dislocations are bringing it down. The motor vehicle sector provides a good illustration. Earlier in the pandemic, demand for vehicles rose sharply, supported by low interest rates, fiscal transfers, curtailed spending on in-person services, and shifts in preference away from using public transportation and from living in cities. But because of a shortage of semiconductors, vehicle supply actually fell. Vehicle prices spiked, and a large pool of pent-up demand emerged. As the pandemic and its effects have waned, production and inventories have grown, and supply has improved. At the same time, higher interest rates have weighed on demand. Interest rates on auto loans have nearly doubled since early last year, and customers report feeling the effect of higher rates on affordability.2 On net, motor vehicle inflation has declined sharply because of the combined effects of these supply and demand factors.

Similar dynamics are playing out for core goods inflation overall. As they do, the effects of monetary restraint should show through more fully over time. Core goods prices fell the past two months, but on a 12-month basis, core goods inflation remains well above its pre-pandemic level. Sustained progress is needed, and restrictive monetary policy is called for to achieve that progress.

In the highly interest-sensitive housing sector, the effects of monetary policy became apparent soon after liftoff. Mortgage rates doubled over the course of 2022, causing housing starts and sales to fall and house price growth to plummet. Growth in market rents soon peaked and then steadily declined (figure 3).3

Measured housing services inflation lagged these changes, as is typical, but has recently begun to fall. This inflation metric reflects rents paid by all tenants, as well as estimates of the equivalent rents that could be earned from homes that are owner occupied.4 Because leases turn over slowly, it takes time for a decline in market rent growth to work its way into the overall inflation measure. The market rent slowdown has only recently begun to show through to that measure. The slowing growth in rents for new leases over roughly the past year can be thought of as "in the pipeline" and will affect measured housing services inflation over the coming year. Going forward, if market rent growth settles near pre-pandemic levels, housing services inflation should decline toward its pre-pandemic level as well. We will continue to watch the market rent data closely for a signal of the upside and downside risks to housing services inflation.

The final category, nonhousing services, accounts for over half of the core PCE index and includes a broad range of services, such as health care, food services, transportation, and accommodations. Twelve-month inflation in this sector has moved sideways since liftoff. Inflation measured over the past three and six months has declined, however, which is encouraging. Part of the reason for the modest decline of nonhousing services inflation so far is that many of these services were less affected by global supply chain bottlenecks and are generally thought to be less interest sensitive than other sectors such as housing or durable goods. Production of these services is also relatively labor intensive, and the labor market remains tight. Given the size of this sector, some further progress here will be essential to restoring price stability. Over time, restrictive monetary policy will help bring aggregate supply and demand back into better balance, reducing inflationary pressures in this key sector.

The Outlook Turning to the outlook, although further unwinding of pandemic-related distortions should continue to put some downward pressure on inflation, restrictive monetary policy will likely play an increasingly important role. Getting inflation sustainably back down to 2 percent is expected to require a period of below-trend economic growth as well as some softening in labor market conditions.

Economic growth Restrictive monetary policy has tightened financial conditions, supporting the expectation of below-trend growth.5 Since last year's symposium, the two-year real yield is up about 250 basis points, and longer-term real yields are higher as wellby nearly 150 basis points.6 Beyond changes in interest rates, bank lending standards have tightened, and loan growth has slowed sharply.7 Such a tightening of broad financial conditions typically contributes to a slowing in the growth of economic activity, and there is evidence of that in this cycle as well. For example, growth in industrial production has slowed, and the amount spent on residential investment has declined in each of the past five quarters (figure 4).

But we are attentive to signs that the economy may not be cooling as expected. So far this year, GDP (gross domestic product) growth has come in above expectations and above its longer-run trend, and recent readings on consumer spending have been especially robust. In addition, after decelerating sharply over the past 18 months, the housing sector is showing signs of picking back up. Additional evidence of persistently above-trend growth could put further progress on inflation at risk and could warrant further tightening of monetary policy.

The labor market The rebalancing of the labor market has continued over the past year but remains incomplete. Labor supply has improved, driven by stronger participation among workers aged 25 to 54 and by an increase in immigration back toward pre-pandemic levels. Indeed, the labor force participation rate of women in their prime working years reached an all-time high in June. Demand for labor has moderated as well. Job openings remain high but are trending lower. Payroll job growth has slowed significantly. Total hours worked has been flat over the past six months, and the average workweek has declined to the lower end of its pre-pandemic range, reflecting a gradual normalization in labor market conditions (figure 5).

This rebalancing has eased wage pressures. Wage growth across a range of measures continues to slow, albeit gradually (figure 6). While nominal wage growth must ultimately slow to a rate that is consistent with 2 percent inflation, what matters for households is real wage growth. Even as nominal wage growth has slowed, real wage growth has been increasing as inflation has fallen.

We expect this labor market rebalancing to continue. Evidence that the tightness in the labor market is no longer easing could also call for a monetary policy response.

Uncertainty and Risk Management along the Path Forward Two percent is and will remain our inflation target. We are committed to achieving and sustaining a stance of monetary policy that is sufficiently restrictive to bring inflation down to that level over time. It is challenging, of course, to know in real time when such a stance has been achieved. There are some challenges that are common to all tightening cycles. For example, real interest rates are now positive and well above mainstream estimates of the neutral policy rate. We see the current stance of policy as restrictive, putting downward pressure on economic activity, hiring, and inflation. But we cannot identify with certainty the neutral rate of interest, and thus there is always uncertainty about the precise level of monetary policy restraint.

That assessment is further complicated by uncertainty about the duration of the lags with which monetary tightening affects economic activity and especially inflation. Since the symposium a year ago, the Committee has raised the policy rate by 300 basis points, including 100 basis points over the past seven months. And we have substantially reduced the size of our securities holdings. The wide range of estimates of these lags suggests that there may be significant further drag in the pipeline.

Beyond these traditional sources of policy uncertainty, the supply and demand dislocations unique to this cycle raise further complications through their effects on inflation and labor market dynamics. For example, so far, job openings have declined substantially without increasing unemploymenta highly welcome but historically unusual result that appears to reflect large excess demand for labor. In addition, there is evidence that inflation has become more responsive to labor market tightness than was the case in recent decades.8 These changing dynamics may or may not persist, and this uncertainty underscores the need for agile policymaking.

These uncertainties, both old and new, complicate our task of balancing the risk of tightening monetary policy too much against the risk of tightening too little. Doing too little could allow above-target inflation to become entrenched and ultimately require monetary policy to wring more persistent inflation from the economy at a high cost to employment. Doing too much could also do unnecessary harm to the economy.

Conclusion As is often the case, we are navigating by the stars under cloudy skies. In such circumstances, risk-management considerations are critical. At upcoming meetings, we will assess our progress based on the totality of the data and the evolving outlook and risks. Based on this assessment, we will proceed carefully as we decide whether to tighten further or, instead, to hold the policy rate constant and await further data. Restoring price stability is essential to achieving both sides of our dual mandate. We will need price stability to achieve a sustained period of strong labor market conditions that benefit all.

We will keep at it until the job is done.

1. Descriptions of PCE inflation include Board staff estimates of the July 2023 values based on available information, including the July 2023 consumer price index and producer price index data. The July 2023 PCE inflation data will be published by the Bureau of Economic Analysis on August 31, 2023. Return to text

2. For example, 25 percent of respondents to the most recent University of Michigan Surveys of Consumers reported that it is currently a bad time to buy a new vehicle because of higher interest rates and tighter credit conditions, up from only 4 percent of respondents in 2021. For more information, see the preliminary results of the August 2023 survey, available on the University of Michigan's website at http://www.sca.isr.umich.edu. Return to text

3. This slowing in rent growth has likely occurred for a combination of reasons. Some of it likely reflects higher interest rates and the softening in real household income growth over the past couple of years. But the normalization of dislocations due to the pandemic is likely playing a role here as well. For example, the shifts in housing preferences related to working from home likely contributed to the increase in housing demand reflected in the sizable earlier increases in rents. As the price effects of that demand shift played out, the growth rate of rents would naturally decline toward its earlier trend. Finally, multifamily construction is quite high by historical standards, and that supply coming on line has likely also taken some pressure off market rents. Return to text

4. PCE prices for housing services include both the rents paid by tenants and an imputed rental value for owner-occupied dwellings (measured as the income the homeowner could have received if the house had been rented to a tenant). For additional details, see Bureau of Economic Analysis (2022), "Rental Income of Persons (PDF)," in NIPA Handbook: Concepts and Methods of the U.S. National Income and Product Accounts (Washington: BEA, December), pp. 12-112-15. Return to text

5. For an example of how tighter financial conditions affect economic activity, see the Federal Reserve Board staff's new index measuring U.S. financial conditions through their effect on the outlook for growth; the index is discussed in Andrea Ajello, Michele Cavallo, Giovanni Favara, William B. Peterman, John W. Schindler IV, and Nitish R. Sinha (2023), "A New Index to Measure U.S. Financial Conditions," FEDS Notes (Washington: Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, June 30). Return to text

6. Changes in real yields cited in this sentence refer to changes in yields on 2- and 10-year Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities. Return to text

7. In addition, as the policy rate increased, nonbanking lending conditions changed as well. For example, beginning in 2022 and continuing into the first half of this year, net issuance of riskier debtsuch as leveraged loans and speculative-grade and unrated corporate bondsin public credit markets declined. Return to text

8. The relationship between labor market slack and inflation, often called the Phillips curve relationship, is likely nonlinear, steepening in a tight labor market. If the Phillips curve has steepened in this way, a small change in labor market tightness could result in a more substantial change in inflation. It is difficult to know with precision how steep that relationship is in real time or how it might evolve as labor market tightness changes. For more information on nonlinearities in this relationship, see Christoph E. Boehm and Nitya Pandalai-Nayar (2022), "Convex Supply Curves," American Economic Review, vol. 112 (December), pp. 394169; Pierpaolo Benigno and Gauti B. Eggertsson (2023), "It's Baaack: The Surge in Inflation in the 2020s and the Return of the Non-Linear Phillips Curve (PDF)," NBER Working Paper Series 31197 (Cambridge, Mass.: National Bureau of Economic Research, April); and Nicolas Petrosky-Nadeau, Lu Zhang, and Lars-Alexander Kuehn (2018), "Endogenous Disasters," American Economic Review, vol. 108 (August), pp. 221245. Return to text

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Speech by Chair Powell on the economic outlook - Federal Reserve