Inflation came down in June. Will it stay that way?

Inflation data for June surprised to the downside, and the new Federal Reserve chairman spent his first day on Capitol Hill signaling a shift in how the central bank communicates—and governs. Meanwhile, the Justice Department settled allegations that major egg producers manipulated wholesale prices, big banks reported blowout earnings driven by credit card use, and pork prices offered a rare bright spot at the grocery store. There was no single headline, but a pattern emerged: the economy is cooling in some places, staying hot in others, and the people running it are changing how they talk about what they do.

The Fed’s new approach: less guidance, more “regime change”

Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh appeared before the House Financial Services Committee for his twice-yearly Humphrey-Hawkins testimony, and the most notable thing about it was what he did not say. Warsh declined to offer the kind of forward guidance that markets have come to expect from the Fed, telling lawmakers that sharing “every passing thought” risks distorting how the central bank processes new information. “If we were to give you my projection what we’ll do over the course of the year,” he said, “we then find ourselves sort of taking information that’s consistent with our priors and rejecting information.” His preferred metaphor was calling “balls and strikes.”