Category: Markets and Macro

Former President Donald Trump is telling voters that he has “tamed” inflation and made food more affordable, but new federal numbers and watchdog reports paint a different picture. Recent data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics show grocery prices rising again, and federal competition regulators say some supermarket chains boosted profits during the pandemic instead…

Goldman Sachs is sounding an alarm that the job market is quietly tilting against college graduates just as a new class prepares to leave campus. The warning comes at a moment when fresh data on young workers shows a labour market that looks less like a springboard and more like a “freezing” pool. A clear…

New research from Moody’s Analytics shows how much the US economy now leans on a small group of affluent shoppers. According to the firm’s estimates, the top 10 percent of earners account for roughly half of all consumer spending, up from 36 percent about 30 years ago. That means headline numbers on growth and retail…

Donald Trump has sold his tariff blitz as a patriotic move that punishes foreign rivals and protects American workers. In practice, the policy is acting more like an own goal, pushing up prices at home even as the White House points to headline deficit gains. New numbers on family budgets, factory costs, and projected growth…

The United Nations is pressing the United States and other member states for answers over a ballooning pile of unpaid dues that senior officials say is pushing the organization toward a cash crunch. Secretary-General António Guterres has warned that nearly $1.6 billion in arrears is already on the books, even before disputed estimates of a…

Economists Gregory Daco and Mark Zandi are warning that the United States’ strong growth numbers may be masking rising risks for ordinary Americans. Even as gross domestic product (GDP) climbs, they see signs that many households, small businesses, and younger workers could be hit hard if the economy slows, raising doubts about how solid the…

The gap between rich and poor cities in the United States is not just about who earns more on paper. Once you adjust incomes for what they actually buy, the map of American prosperity looks very different. A six-figure salary in one metro can feel tight, while a far smaller paycheck somewhere else can cover…

OpenSecrets reported that billionaires helped fund the 2024 race at a level that would have been unthinkable a generation ago, with about one in every 13 campaign dollars tied to ultra-wealthy donors. That flood of money from the very top arrived in a country where income inequality has been climbing for decades and many families…

Foreign money has long treated the United States as the world’s ultimate safe deposit box, parking trillions in Treasurys, stocks and private equity funds. That assumption is now under more strain than at any point since the global financial crisis, as geopolitical rivalry, fiscal stress and shifting monetary policy chip away at the aura of…

U.S. shoppers hit the brakes at the end of 2025, leaving December retail sales essentially unchanged and closing the year on a softer note than many retailers had hoped. After a record-setting 2024 and a solid start to 2025, the flat finish suggests consumers are becoming more cautious as higher prices, slower wage gains, and…