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
A coming change to S&P 500 rules could push large money-losing companies into the index funds inside millions of 401(k)s
Millions of Americans with retirement savings tied to S&P 500 index funds faced the prospect of their money flowing automatically into large, money-losing companies after...
A low-cost index fund tracking the whole market has historically returned about 10% a year and beats most active managers
Millions of American investors pay fund managers to pick stocks, hoping to beat the market. The exposed math tells a different story. A broad-market index...
Money at a brokerage isn’t FDIC-insured, but SIPC covers up to $500,000 if the firm fails
Investors holding stocks, bonds, or mutual funds at a brokerage have no Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation safety net if the firm collapses. The Securities Investor...
A fund charging 1% a year instead of 0.05% can quietly cost a saver six figures over a career
A worker who saves steadily for 30 or 40 years can lose more than $100,000 in retirement wealth to a single line item most people...
Consumer confidence rebounded in June from a record low but remains 19% below a year ago, with households still expecting 4.6% inflation
American households pulled back from the deepest pessimism on record in June 2026, but the recovery barely dented a year-long slide in economic confidence. The...
The Mega Millions jackpot has rolled to $413 million for Friday night’s drawing, with a $182.6 million cash option
No one matched all six numbers in Tuesday’s Mega Millions drawing, pushing the jackpot to an estimated $413 million for Friday night’s game. The cash...
Core inflation held at a milder 2.9% in May, even as the overall rate hit a three-year high
American households paid 4.2 percent more for everyday goods and services in May 2026 than they did a year earlier, the steepest annual increase in...
Inflation climbed to 4.2% in May, its fastest pace in three years, with energy alone driving more than half of the monthly increase
American households already stretched by grocery and housing costs absorbed another blow when consumer prices jumped 0.5 percent in May on a seasonally adjusted basis,...
AI was the top reason for American layoffs for the third straight month — 38,579 of May’s 97,006 announced job cuts
Nearly 40,000 American workers learned in May that artificial intelligence was the stated reason their jobs were being eliminated, extending a streak that has now...
Bitcoin’s slide below $64,000 erased $1.1 billion in leveraged bets in one day
Traders holding high-leverage crypto positions lost more than a billion dollars in forced liquidations after Bitcoin dropped below $64,000 in a single session. The selloff...
The Mega Millions jackpot has climbed to $392 million for Tuesday night’s drawing
Lottery players across 45 states face a single question ahead of Tuesday night: whether the Mega Millions jackpot, now estimated at $392 million with a...
Gold prices have surged in 2026 as investors hunt for an inflation hedge
Investors holding gold have watched the metal climb through the first half of 2026, with LBMA-based pricing data showing a sustained advance that outpaced gains...
Federal agents arrested 276 people in a global “pig butchering” crypto crackdown
At least 276 people were arrested across multiple countries in a coordinated strike against Southeast Asian scam compounds that ran “pig butchering” cryptocurrency fraud schemes...
Hiring beat forecasts in May and unemployment held at 4.3%
Private employers added 122,000 jobs in May while the official unemployment rate held at 4.3 percent, signaling a labor market that is cooling without cracking....
Markets now price in no Fed rate cuts for the rest of 2026
Borrowers hoping for relief on mortgage rates, auto loans, or business credit lines will have to wait longer than almost anyone expected. Futures markets tied...
The S&P 500 closed at a record 7,599.96 even as the Fed signals no rate cuts are coming
The S&P 500 hit a fresh record close of 7,599.96 on June 1, 2026, gaining 19.90 points in a session where rising oil prices and...
A surprise 172,000 May jobs just raised the odds of a Fed rate hike this year to 57% — keeping mortgage and credit-card rates high
American borrowers hoping for relief on their mortgage payments and credit-card bills will have to wait longer. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that total...
Capital One Performance Savings still pays 4.10% APY, while online-only competitors hover around 4.20% — the CFPB’s new open-banking rule lets you switch in minutes for free
As of June 2026, Capital One’s Performance Savings account is advertising a 4.10% annual percentage yield. That is a strong rate by historical standards, but...
Kevin Warsh’s first FOMC meeting opens June 16 — and Wall Street is pricing in under a 3% chance of any rate cut for the rest of 2026
Kevin Warsh has been Federal Reserve chairman for less than a month, and the bond market has already rendered its verdict on what he will...
Brent crude jumped 2.5% Tuesday to $98.47 — Iran’s foreign ministry now says vessels passing through the Strait of Hormuz “will have costs” as part of any ceasefire deal
Iran is no longer just threatening to weaponize the Strait of Hormuz. It is billing for passage. Brent crude settled at $98.47 a barrel on...