Economy & The Fed
Federal Reserve decisions, inflation data, interest rates, GDP, employment reports, recession indicators, and the broader economic picture.
Latest in Economy & The Fed
The Fed meets in mid-September, and top CDs still pay close to 4%
Savers watching their cash accounts have a date to note: the Federal Reserve’s rate-setting committee meets September 15 and 16, its next scheduled decision on...
A CD near 4% locks in a return before the Fed’s expected rate cut
Certificates of deposit at the most competitive banks have recently carried yields near 4%, and that window may be narrowing. The Federal Reserve’s next policy...
With the Fed’s September decision near, locking a CD around 4% now can guard against a cut
Savers who have enjoyed the best deposit yields in years are facing a narrowing window. The Federal Reserve meets again in mid-September, and financial markets...
The Fed’s next move could be a hike, not a cut, so locking a CD near 4% may pay off before September 16
The Federal Reserve has held its benchmark interest rate at a range of 3.50% to 3.75% for all of 2026, and with price pressures still...
The Fed is now more likely to raise rates than cut them next month, so locking a CD near 4.5% looks smart
The Federal Reserve left its benchmark rate unchanged at a range of 3.50 to 3.75 percent at the end of July, but the debate inside...
The Fed is holding rates, and the best CDs still pay close to 4% with no cut in sight
The Federal Reserve left its benchmark rate unchanged at a range of 3.5 percent to 3.75 percent at its late-July meeting, and for savers that...
Fed researchers find tariffs lift prices 1%–2% and cut spending 4%
A Federal Reserve research paper finds that households did more than pay a tariff-related premium: they also changed what they bought and how much they...
The economy grew just 1.5% last quarter while prices stayed high, squeezing fixed incomes
The U.S. economy expanded at just a 1.5% annual rate in the second quarter of 2026, a marked step down from the 2.1% pace recorded...
The Federal Reserve held interest rates for a fifth straight time, keeping top savings and CD yields near 4.5%
The Federal Reserve left its benchmark interest rate unchanged on July 29, holding the target range at 3.50% to 3.75% for a fifth consecutive meeting...
A five-year CD now pays as much as 6.25%, before the Fed cuts rates.
Savers hunting for yield have a narrow window to lock in five-year certificate-of-deposit rates as high as 6.25 percent, a level that sits far above...
Inflation cooled to 3.5% in June as oil prices fell
American consumers got a break at the gas pump in June, and it showed up in the national inflation numbers. The 12-month Consumer Price Index...
The Federal Reserve meets July 28 and 29, and with a rate cut unlikely, savers can still lock in CDs paying close to 4.9%
Savers holding cash in short-term accounts still have a narrow window to lock in 12-month certificate of deposit rates near 4.9 percent, even as the...
Top CDs still pay up to 4.94%, and the Fed could actually raise rates at its July 29 meeting
Depositors hunting for the best certificate-of-deposit yields can still find annual percentage yields as high as 4.94 percent at select banks, even though the Federal...
Treasury inflation-protected securities raise their principal as prices climb, so the payout keeps pace
Investors holding Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities receive interest payments that rise and fall with consumer prices, but the inflation data driving those adjustments arrives on a...
The Fed left interest rates at 3.5% to 3.75%, and 9 of its 17 officials now expect a hike this year rather than a cut
Nine of the Federal Reserve’s 17 officials now project at least one interest rate increase before the end of 2026, a sharp turn from earlier...
$7 trillion sits in money-market funds earning 4% while bank savings pay near zero
Savers keeping cash in traditional bank accounts are losing ground to a simple alternative that pays several percentage points more in annual interest. More than...
Most Federal Reserve officials now expect a rate hike later this year, keeping mortgage and card rates high
Borrowers carrying credit-card balances and adjustable-rate mortgages face another stretch of elevated costs after the Federal Reserve signaled that its next move on interest rates...
The 30-year mortgage sits near 6.5%, and the Fed now hints its next move could be a hike, not a cut
Home buyers shopping for a mortgage this week face a 6.47 percent average rate on a 30-year fixed loan, and the Federal Reserve just signaled...
Oil has dropped toward $90 on the Iran deal, but gas could take months to fully follow
American drivers watching crude oil prices slide toward $90 a barrel after reports of progress on an Iran nuclear deal face an uncomfortable reality: the...
The Iran ceasefire is holding under a 60-day deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz
Commercial vessels are moving through the Strait of Hormuz again after the United States and Iran signed a 60-day ceasefire that terminated military operations and...