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
Compensation costs rose 3.4% over the year through June
Compensation costs for civilian workers rose 3.4 percent over the 12 months ending in June, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Employment Cost Index....
U.S. labor productivity rose 1.4% in the second quarter
U.S. nonfarm business labor productivity rose at a 1.4 percent annualized rate in the second quarter, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported in its revised...
Unemployment claims held near 206,000 in the latest weekly report
New applications for unemployment insurance held near 206,000 in the latest federal weekly report. The Department of Labor said the seasonally adjusted advance figure for...
The economy added 162,000 jobs in August, Labor says
Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 162,000 in August, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ September employment report. The same release said the unemployment...
People without a diploma faced 4.7% unemployment in August
People age 25 and older without a high-school diploma faced a 4.7% unemployment rate in August, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The figure...
SIPC covers a failed brokerage up to $500,000, including $250,000 in cash
SIPC protection can replace missing securities and cash when a member brokerage fails, up to $500,000 per qualifying customer capacity, including no more than $250,000...
Consumer sentiment fell to 47.8, down 13.2% from a year ago
Consumer sentiment fell to a preliminary reading of 47.8 in September, 13.2% below its level a year earlier, according to the University of Michigan. The...
The 10-year Treasury yield reached 4.96% after starting the week at 4.80%
The benchmark 10-year Treasury yield ended the latest reported week at 4.96%, sixteen basis points above its first trading-day reading of 4.80%. That rise happened...
A 22-year-old pleaded guilty Tuesday to leading a $245 million crypto theft ring
More than $245 million in stolen cryptocurrency, a fleet of exotic cars worth as much as $3.8 million apiece, and nightclub tabs that ran up...
The Fed meets September 15 with rates unmoved all year, keeping top CDs near 4% and mortgages at 6.71%
The Federal Reserve returns to the table on September 15 and 16 having moved the federal funds rate exactly zero times in 2026, holding its...
A strong 162,000-job August report still leaves information and tech hiring shrinking as companies pour money into AI
The information sector — the corner of the economy that spans computing infrastructure, data processing, publishing and broadcasting — shed 23,000 jobs in August, nearly...
A hotter-than-expected August jobs report makes a September Federal Reserve rate cut less likely, keeping the best CDs near 4.6%
The U.S. economy added 162,000 jobs in August, blowing past Wall Street’s forecast of about 53,000 and marking the strongest monthly gain since March, the...
SIPC coverage protects a brokerage account up to $500,000 if the firm fails
Five hundred thousand dollars is the number most investors associate with SIPC, but the Securities Investor Protection Corporation’s own guidance narrows that figure considerably: it...
A transfer-on-death registration passes a brokerage account to heirs without probate
A transfer-on-death registration is a one-line addition to a brokerage account that does something a will alone cannot: it moves the stocks, bonds, and funds...
The July jobs report showed the economy shed 23,000 jobs, with prior months revised down 103,000
The U.S. economy lost 23,000 jobs in July, and the government simultaneously erased another 103,000 jobs it had already counted for May and June, the...
The Federal Reserve meets September 15 as forecasters split on holding or hiking, keeping savings and CD rates in flux
The Federal Reserve’s next policy meeting, set for Sept. 15-16, has forecasters split between holding interest rates steady and raising them further — not between...
Federal prosecutors flew a suspect back from Fiji to face charges in a $165 million crypto Ponzi scheme
Federal prosecutors say Edward Zimbardi, the man accused of running a $165 million cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme, was deported from Fiji on Aug. 14 and flown...
A federal revision erased 178,000 jobs, revealing a weaker labor market
The labor market was weaker over the past year than the government’s monthly reports showed, according to a preliminary revision the Bureau of Labor Statistics...
Dividend stocks can supply retirement income, but the payout is never guaranteed
Dividend-paying stocks are a favorite source of retirement income because they can send cash to a shareholder several times a year without requiring the sale...
Wall Street is now leaning toward a Federal Reserve rate hike in September, and top CDs still pay close to 4%
Traders who spent the summer betting the Federal Reserve would cut interest rates have reversed course, and the futures market is now pricing in the...