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 S&P 500 just closed above 7,200 for the first time — while inflation hit 3.5% and the Iran war enters month three
On April 30, 2026, the S&P 500 closed at 7,209.01, crossing the 7,200 threshold for the first time in the index’s 69-year history. The same...
Jobless claims just fell to 189,000 — a number the U.S. hasn’t seen since Nixon was president in 1969
In the week ending April 25, 2026, only 189,000 Americans filed new unemployment claims, a figure the country has not seen since September 1969. Back...
Consumer spending slowed to 1.6% in Q1 as households pulled back on goods and discretionary purchases
American consumers pulled back sharply in the first three months of 2026, marking the most significant spending slowdown in two years. Real personal consumption expenditures...
The economy grew 2% last quarter — but inflation jumped to 3.5% and consumer spending is slowing. Here’s what that means for your wallet.
The economy grew 2% last quarter – but inflation jumped to 3.5% and consumer spending is slowing. Here’s what that means for your wallet. A...
The Fed just held rates steady in Powell’s final meeting as chair — and 4 members dissented, the most since 1992
Jerome Powell’s last policy meeting as Federal Reserve chair ended not with consensus but with a fracture. On April 29, 2026, the Federal Open Market...
Oil briefly hit $126 a barrel today — then dropped $12 in a single session. Here’s what just happened.
At 8:14 a.m. London time on May 19, 2026, Brent crude futures touched $126.20 a barrel. By the close of the New York session, the...
Lloyds tops estimates, warns war-driven energy shock could hit UK growth
Lloyds Banking Group posted first-quarter profits ahead of City expectations on April 29, but paired the upbeat numbers with a stark warning: an energy price...
U.S. leads in oil output, but refining and taxes keep gas prices high
American oil fields pumped a record 13.2 million barrels per day in 2024, more than Saudi Arabia or Russia, according to the U.S. Energy Information...
China’s biggest banks post Q1 profit gains; bad-loan ratios hold steady
China’s six largest state-owned banks collectively grew first-quarter net profit by more than 3% year-on-year, according to earnings filings released in late April 2026, even...
Boomer retirements are starting to drag on U.S. economic growth
About 10,000 baby boomers turn 65 every day in the United States. Most of them will never hold a full-time job again. And the cumulative...
Traders bet Fed holds rates into 2027, with rising odds of a hike next year
Traders bet Fed holds rates into 2027, with rising odds of a hike next year Wall Street’s rate-cut dreams are fading fast. When the Federal...
Powell says U.S. economy growing at solid pace despite Iran war
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell told a packed audience at Harvard University on March 28, 2026, that the American economy continues to grow at a...
Pentagon official: Iran war has cost the U.S. $25B so far
The U.S. war with Iran has already burned through $25 billion in taxpayer money, a senior Pentagon official told the House Armed Services Committee on...
FedEx, UPS pledge to pass along tariff refunds—up to $5B
Thousands of businesses that paid tariffs on goods shipped through FedEx and UPS could soon see money coming back. Both carriers have pledged to pass...
BP profit more than doubles as oil trading gains on Iran war volatility
BP earned $3.842 billion in the first quarter of 2026, more than double the year-ago figure, after its oil trading desks turned the chaos around...
Foreign automakers warn cheap models may exit U.S. without deal
A new Nissan Versa starts at roughly $17,000, making it one of the last new cars in America that a buyer earning the median income...
Hotter inflation outlook clouds Fed rate-cut path for 2026
Federal Reserve officials walked into their March 18 meeting expecting to debate the timing of rate cuts. They walked out having raised their inflation forecasts...
GM eyes $500M tariff refund after Supreme Court ruling, tops EPS
General Motors told investors in its first-quarter 2026 earnings report that it expects to collect roughly $500 million from the federal government, money the automaker...
Fed expected to hold rates as Powell nears a potential final stretch
Jerome Powell will sit at the head of the Federal Reserve’s boardroom table on April 29 knowing two things with near certainty: interest rates are...
Schwab warns the $39T U.S. debt is reshaping bonds investors buy
In early 2026, the U.S. national debt crossed $39 trillion. The Treasury Department’s Debt to the Penny tracker logged the milestone without fanfare, but Schwab’s...