The financial news that actually matters
The U.S. Treasury just gave savers their best reason to buy I bonds in nearly three years. Starting May 1, 2026, newly purchased Series I savings bonds pay a composite annual rate of 4.26%, the highest since November 2023. But the real story is buried one layer deeper: the fixed-rate component jumped to 0.90%, a…
A teacher in suburban Dallas who drives 45 minutes each way to work told a local CBS affiliate in May 2026 that she now spends more on gasoline every month than on her car payment. She is not an outlier. Since the United States launched military operations against Iran in late February, American households have…
Not long ago, a saver willing to open an online account could earn close to 4.75% APY on plain, FDIC-insured cash. That was late 2025, when Bankrate’s weekly survey of top nationally available accounts showed leading offers clustered near that mark. By late May 2026, the best widely available high-yield savings rates have slipped to…
Iran delivered a 14-point counterproposal late Thursday night through Pakistani intermediaries, answering a U.S. peace framework with a plan of its own to end the military conflict between the two countries and reopen the Strait of Hormuz. President Trump said Friday he is reviewing the document but is “not satisfied” with what Tehran has put…
A weekly fill-up that cost about $52 in January now runs nearly $64, and in California it is closing in on $86. The national average price of regular unleaded gasoline has climbed to $4.56 a gallon, according to U.S. Energy Information Administration data for the week ending May 5, 2026. It is the first time…
Crude oil plunged below $99 a barrel during trading on June 4, 2026, after reports that Iran is actively reviewing U.S. proposals to reopen the Strait of Hormuz to commercial tanker traffic. For a few hours, energy traders allowed themselves to imagine one of the world’s most dangerous shipping chokepoints finally clearing. Then the moment…
A two-car family that spent about $38 to fill a sedan in January is now paying closer to $58 for the same tank. Do that eight times a month across both vehicles and the extra cost adds up to roughly $187, money that four months ago was covering a week of groceries or a childcare…
A two-pound package of steak now costs more than an hour of work at the federal minimum wage. Bureau of Labor Statistics data shows the national average price for all uncooked beef steaks hit $12.74 per pound in May 2026, the highest level recorded since the agency began tracking the series. Five years earlier, the…
Private Payrolls Beat Expectations With 109,000 Jobs in April – but 56% of All New Hiring Came From One Industry: Healthcare The U.S. private sector added 109,000 jobs in April, comfortably clearing the roughly 75,000 that economists surveyed by Dow Jones had forecast, according to the ADP National Employment Report released in May 2026. On…
President Donald Trump told Iran on Sunday that it would be “bombed at a much higher level” if it refuses to sign a proposed 14-point peace deal, delivering the threat during a White House Mother’s Day lunch that doubled as the latest escalation in a standoff already rattling global energy markets. By Monday morning, crude…