The financial news that actually matters
Gold’s rally crossed another psychological threshold this week as the metal surged past $4,900 an ounce, extending a blistering run that has turned bullion into one of the market’s clearest expressions of global unease. For investors who spent much of the past decade hearing that gold was old-fashioned, too slow, or too dependent on fear,…
The Federal Reserve held interest rates steady on January 28, 2026, but the language in its official statement and the economic data surrounding the decision suggest policymakers are increasingly focused on when it may be appropriate to begin cutting rates, potentially as soon as the next few meetings. A softening labor market, delayed government data…
United Parcel Service said Tuesday that it plans to cut as many as 30,000 jobs in 2026, adding to roughly 48,000 positions the company eliminated last year as it accelerates a costly restructuring tied to shrinking volumes from its largest customer, Amazon. The announcement, made during UPS’s latest earnings call, signals that the delivery giant’s…
The largest U.S. banks shed jobs at the fastest clip in nearly a decade through 2024 and 2025, driven by aggressive investment in artificial intelligence and automation tools designed to cut costs. Wells Fargo, JPMorgan Chase, and their peers filed annual disclosures showing workforce numbers that reflect a sustained contraction, even as revenues held steady…
Consumer prices in the United States climbed 0.3% in December 2025 on a seasonally adjusted basis, pushing the annual inflation rate to 2.7% above its level a year earlier. The reading, released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics on January 13, 2026, capped a year in which monthly price swings varied widely and federal funding…
U.S. retail sales were unchanged in December compared with November, a flat result that caught economists off guard and closed out the year with fading consumer momentum. The reading, drawn from the Census Bureau’s Advance Monthly Retail Trade Survey, suggested that holiday shoppers pulled back more than anticipated, leaving the economy with less spending fuel…
The U.S. economy is heading into 2026 with a striking contradiction at its center. Growth projections near 3 percent sit alongside core inflation readings that remain well above the Federal Reserve’s 2 percent target. That split creates real tension for policymakers deciding when, or whether, to cut interest rates, and for households still feeling the…
Consumer prices in the United States rose 2.7% for the 12 months ending December 2025, holding steady at the same annual pace recorded through November. Core inflation, which excludes food and energy, eased to 2.6% over the same period. The data, released in mid-January 2026, offered a mixed signal: headline inflation refused to budge lower,…
Most Americans carry a dozen or more recurring charges on their credit cards and bank statements, from streaming platforms to cloud storage to meal kits. Collectively, those charges add up to roughly $3,200 a year for the average consumer, yet surveys consistently show that people badly underestimate how much they actually spend. That gap between…
The U.S. economy added 50,000 jobs in December 2025, falling well short of the 73,000 positions economists had projected. The unemployment rate ticked down to 4.4 percent, and the labor force participation rate held steady, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, but the softer-than-expected payroll gain added to signs the labor market has cooled…