Goldman Sachs is raising concerns that deteriorating labor market conditions continue to shadow the broader U.S. economy, pointing to a surge in mass layoff filings as evidence that official employment statistics may be lagging behind reality. The investment bank argues that WARN Act notices, which companies must file before large-scale job cuts, function as a…

California Democrats are advancing a renewed push to study mileage-based road charges as the state’s transportation funding model shows deepening cracks. The Motor Vehicle Account, which bankrolls the California Highway Patrol and Department of Motor Vehicles, faces a structural imbalance that analysts warn could tip into insolvency beginning in 2025-26. With multi-year deficits constraining Sacramento’s…

Los Angeles city leaders approved a fiscal year 2025-26 budget that reduces some homelessness program funding while redirecting scarce dollars toward rising legal liabilities. The cuts hit services like mobile hygiene units and housing initiatives as officials also cite mounting legal costs and other mandated spending pressures in explaining the budget squeeze. The result is…

The frozen food aisle, long considered a reliable profit center for consumer packaged goods companies, is showing signs of serious financial strain. Major corporations are writing down the value of frozen brands, divesting entire product lines at a loss, and restructuring operations in ways that suggest smaller and mid-tier players face even steeper odds of…

American Airlines closed 2025 with record revenue figures and a clear debt-reduction trajectory, yet its stock continues to trade at a discount to peers. The gap between the airline’s improving fundamentals and Wall Street’s cautious pricing suggests the market is still anchored to risks that may already be fading. A closer look at the company’s…

The Federal Trade Commission has put a name on something grocery shoppers have long suspected but could not prove: the possibility that the price on the screen is not the same price everyone else sees. The agency’s interim findings from a formal market study describe an emerging ecosystem of data intermediaries that use personal information…

American households now owe a record $18.8 trillion, and recent growth has been fueled in part by rising credit card balances. The fourth quarter of 2025 added $191 billion to the national debt pile, with credit card balances alone climbing $44 billion to roughly $1.28 trillion, according to the New York Fed. What makes this…

New legislation targeting the wealthiest Americans keeps surfacing in Congress, but the bills share more than a desire for revenue. They reflect a growing push among some lawmakers to argue that the existing tax code undertaxes accumulated wealth, and that traditional income-based approaches may not fully reach it. Two distinct legislative strategies, one taxing net…