Markets & Investing
Coverage of financial markets, investment strategies, and the economic forces that move money. Connects macro trends to real decisions for investors and professionals.
Latest in Markets & Investing
Why the stock market’s record week might actually be bad news for your wallet
Maria Gonzalez, a home health aide in Phoenix, spent the week of April 14, 2026, picking up an extra weekend shift to cover a $287...
The White House says Americans are keeping more of what they earn — but consumer confidence just hit a 74-year low
The IRS says the average tax refund this spring is $3,571. The White House used Tax Day to declare that “Americans are keeping more of...
No, the Nasdaq’s 13-day win streak doesn’t mean it’s time to buy — here’s what history actually shows
The Nasdaq Composite closed higher for 13 consecutive trading sessions ending April 29, 2026, its longest winning streak since January 1992. Within hours of the...
Netflix co-founder Reed Hastings exits after 29 years — stock drops 10% as growth concerns mount
Reed Hastings co-founded Netflix in 1997 with a simple bet: Americans would rent DVDs by mail if someone made it easy enough. Twenty-nine years, a...
Charles Schwab launches spot Bitcoin and Ethereum trading at 0.75% per trade — undercutting Fidelity
Charles Schwab has begun offering direct bitcoin and ethereum trading inside its brokerage accounts, charging 0.75% per trade and undercutting rival Fidelity by 25 basis...
Consumer confidence just hit its lowest point in 74 years — worse than the 2008 crash, worse than COVID
The last time American consumers felt anything close to this pessimistic, the country was in the grip of the worst financial crisis since the Great...
Iran declares Strait of Hormuz open — oil plunges 10%, but don’t expect cheap gas anytime soon
On a single day in late April 2026, Iran’s foreign minister told the world the Strait of Hormuz was “completely open” for commercial shipping. Within...
Charles Schwab launches spot Bitcoin and Ethereum trading at 75 bps — undercutting Fidelity
Charles Schwab, the largest discount brokerage in the United States, is preparing to offer its retail clients direct trading in Bitcoin and Ethereum through their...
Gold hits $4,819 per ounce — here’s what’s driving the safe-haven rally in 2026
On the afternoon of March 18, 2026, minutes after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell finished his post-meeting press conference, gold futures on COMEX blew past...
Bank of America posts highest EPS in nearly two decades — $1.11 per share, net income up 17%
Bank of America reported first-quarter 2026 earnings of $1.11 per diluted share, what the bank called its strongest quarterly result in nearly two decades, driven...
S&P 500 breaks 7,000 for the first time — Nasdaq on a 12-day win streak, longest since 2009
The S&P 500 closed above 7,000 for the first time on Wednesday, April 15, 2026, finishing the session at 7,022.95 and punching through a level...
Schwab posts record Q1 — $1.37 EPS, 9.9 million daily trades — but stock drops 10%
Charles Schwab just delivered the strongest quarter in its 54-year history. The market’s response: a roughly 10% haircut to the stock price. The brokerage reported...
Gold hits $4,819 per ounce — investors hedge against inflation and geopolitical uncertainty
Gold surged past every previous record in late April 2026, with the COMEX front-month contract touching an intraday high of $4,819 per ounce after a...
Pakistan reverses 8-year crypto banking ban — banks can now service licensed digital asset firms
For eight years, Pakistan’s banks treated cryptocurrency like contraband. A 2018 State Bank of Pakistan directive, widely referenced as SBP Circular No. 3 of April...
Bitcoin holds above $74,300, Ethereum surges 6% on ceasefire optimism
Bitcoin crossed $74,300 on Friday morning, April 17, 2026, capping a 48-hour rally that drew fuel from two catalysts landing almost back to back: a...
Weekly jobless claims drop 11,000 to 207,000 — labor market holds steady amid layoff headlines
New unemployment filings fell to 207,000 for the week ending April 11, 2026, the Department of Labor reported Thursday, a drop of 11,000 from the...
JPMorgan’s traders just had their biggest quarter EVER — $11.6B in three months, but the bank quietly cut its 2026 outlook
JPMorgan Chase reported on April 11, 2026, that its trading desks generated $11.6 billion in markets revenue during the first quarter, the largest single-quarter haul...
Bitcoin rips to $76,000 as Iran peace rumors trigger $1.1B in ETF inflows
Bitcoin blew past $76,000 on a single afternoon in late April 2026 after rumors of a U.S.-Iran diplomatic opening ripped through global markets, pulling what...
S&P 500 closes at 6,967 — within 1% of an all-time high as Iran peace optimism pulls oil 7% lower
Wall Street came within striking distance of a record on Tuesday, May 13, 2026, after a burst of optimism about U.S.-Iran diplomacy sent oil prices...
Citadel’s Ken Griffin: “The world’s going to end up in a recession” if Hormuz stays shut 6–12 months
Ken Griffin, the billionaire founder of hedge fund giant Citadel, warned in mid-April 2026 that a prolonged closure of the Strait of Hormuz would drag...