Marketplace

Wage growth disappoints

This economy added twice the amount of jobs expected in August, which is good news for the labor market. Still, the latest jobs report showed average hourly earnings were

Chevron's big bet

American oil giant Chevron plans to funnel $7 billion into its Venezuela operations over the next five years, with a goal of more than doubling its production in the coun

Even higher diesel prices are coming

The average cost of a gallon of diesel was $5.68 on Wednesday — just 13 cents shy of a record high. Tariffs and ongoing wars are both to blame. But so is a seasonal upswi

Borrowing costs go boom

Bond yields jumped to multi-decade highs in some countries this week, as market anxiety about inflation and the Iran war grows. The U.S. is not exempt from this turmoil.

Oil markets brace for maintenance season

In Texas oil country, September usually marks the beginning of maintenance season. But with refineries running at near-100% capacity to meet increased demand, this fall m

The ongoing cost of ICE raids on Latino entreprenuers

It’s been more than a year since the Trump administration intensified ICE raids in immigrant communities across the U.S. Latino entreprenuers say the toll on their busine

Grass is always greener

The NFL is back in a couple weeks, and so is artificial turf. Several NFL stadiums rolled out the green carpet this summer for World Cup matches, which are mandated to be

How much power does the Fed really have?

Another month, another PCE report that put annual core inflation meaningfully above the Fed’s 2% target. The central bank has been fighting high inflation for more than f

Preparing for an AI tax crisis

If artificial intelligence really does replace human labor, the U.S. could be in for a tax revenue crisis. That’s because high unemployment shrinks the pool of taxable wa

Does Canada need new energy partners?

Fuel hasn’t been touched in the trade clash between the U.S. and Canada (yet). It’s probably because the countries have an interdependent energy relationship — American r

When unemployment becomes endless

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, at least 1.8 million Americans have been actively looking for a fulltime job for more than 27 weeks. That’s over six months.

Sec. Bessent's big plan to finance the national debt

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s buyback of long-term bonds was a bit of a letdown this week — the interest rates barely budged. The Treasury’s next move in its quest t

Let's import some inflation

The price of imported goods, sans energy, was up 4.5% year-over-year in July. Data center buildout is driving that jump — imported computer prices were up 17%. In this ep

Got beef?

Cattle herds are at a national low not seen since the 1950s. That’s driving up the price of beef for consumers, but it’s also affecting the companies that process cows in

Consumer sentiment takes a tumble

Consumer spending fell in early August, according to preliminary results from the University of Michigan’s survey. July retail sales were down, and the average price of g

Retail feels the squeeze

In the Commerce Department’s retail sales report for July, sales at stores of all kinds were down 0.6%, when a modest increase in sales had been expected. Though some dis

Long-term bond yields hit a long-term high

The government is selling 30-year bonds with interest rates at a quarter-century high. We talk with Greg Ip at the Wall Street Journal about how that could be a warning f

Steep inflation, meet slow wage growth

The average household’s buying power has slipped by about 0.1%, when the latest CPI report is compared to last week’s jobs numbers. In layman’s terms, Americans took a pa

Credit card delinquencies climb

Credit card delinquencies are sitting at 13% so far this year. It’s the highest national rate since the tail-end of the Great Recession. The aftermath of the COVID-19 pan

Whoosh, there go our wage gains

More bad news from last week’s jobs report: Wage growth slowed to 3.2%, the lowest yearly rate in five years. Combine that with high inflation, and consumers are losing p