The financial news that actually matters
Two of Wall Street’s most-watched indexes moved in opposite directions on May 1, 2026, and the split captured an economy that cannot decide whether it is thriving or bracing for trouble. The S&P 500 closed at a record 7,230.12, up 21.11 points on the session. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 152.87 points to 49,499.27…
At the grocery store, the sticker shock is hard to miss. A pound of ground beef that averaged around $5.50 last spring now costs closer to $6.17, based on Bureau of Labor Statistics average retail price data. Scale that up across a week of family dinners and the budget strain adds up quickly. BLS figures…
American households spent less freely in the first three months of 2026, even as the prices they faced climbed at the fastest pace in over a year. The U.S. economy grew at a 2.0% annual rate in the first quarter, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis advance estimate released April 30. But beneath that…
Savers earning north of 4% on their cash have had a remarkably long run. The Federal Reserve just extended it, but also made clear it won’t last forever. At its May 2025 meeting, the Fed held its benchmark interest rate steady for the third consecutive time, keeping the federal funds rate in the 5.25%-to-5.50% target…
Jerome Powell will stop running the Federal Reserve on May 15, but he will not stop voting on interest rates. And the White House says that is fine. When his term as chair expires later this month, Powell plans to remain on the Board of Governors, a seat he holds through January 31, 2028. The…
Kevin Warsh is one vote away from running the Federal Reserve. The Senate’s full vote is expected May 11, 2026, and it could be the most partisan Fed chair confirmation in history. Warsh cleared the Senate Banking Committee on a strict 13-to-11 party-line split, with every Republican voting yes and every Democrat voting no, according…
A gallon of regular gasoline now costs $4.39 on average nationwide, after prices lurched up 9 cents in a single day on June 2, 2026, according to AAA’s daily fuel gauge. For the driver filling a typical 15-gallon sedan tank, that works out to roughly $66, up from about $45 before hostilities between the United…
Friday morning could deliver the weakest jobs number in more than two years. Forecasters surveyed by Bloomberg and Reuters expect the U.S. economy added just 50,000 jobs in April, a steep fall from the 178,000 gain the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported for March. The BLS will publish its April Employment Situation report at 8:30…
The S&P 500 closed at 7,209.01 on April 30, 2026, crossing the 7,200 threshold for the first time and locking in a roughly 10% gain for the month of April. The index opened April near 6,550, making the surge to 7,209.01 a gain of approximately 10%, a figure comparable to November 2020’s roughly 10.75% advance…
The average American household spent about $270 a week on groceries at the start of 2020. Walk into the same supermarket today, fill the same cart, and the tab is closer to $340. The difference is not a feeling or a political talking point. It is a number you can trace on a single federal…