The financial news that actually matters
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,…
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…
Private employers added 41,000 jobs in December, a weak showing that reinforced the view that the U.S. labor market is cooling at the end of the year without fully rolling over. The figure, released Wednesday in the latest ADP National Employment Report, landed below already modest expectations and followed a revised decline in November. That…
U.S. job openings fell in November, another sign that the labor market entered the end of 2025 with less momentum than it had earlier in the recovery. Employers posted 7.1 million openings at the end of the month, down from a revised 7.4 million in October, according to the Labor Department’s Job Openings and Labor…
Oil prices surged to a five-month high in late January as traders weighed two forces that can move the market in a hurry: harsh winter weather in the United States and rising concern that tensions with Iran could disrupt global supply. The move was sharp enough to reset the mood across the energy complex, with…
January has long held a special place in market lore, and not just because it opens a new calendar year. Historically, U.S. stocks have often started the year with an upward bias, helping fuel the belief that January can deliver stronger returns than a typical month. That broad-market idea still has some factual support. Dow…
The U.S. economy grew faster in the third quarter of 2025 than first reported, with the Bureau of Economic Analysis revising real gross domestic product growth up to 4.4% from 4.3% at an annualized rate. The change was small, but it mattered because economists had broadly expected no revision and because the number arrived after…
The U.S. national debt has crossed $38 trillion, another milestone that arrived faster than the last one. Just as striking, the government’s annual interest burden has moved above $1 trillion, turning what was once a long-range warning into an immediate budget reality. Those two numbers matter together. A debt total on its own is easy…
The Federal Reserve entered its December meeting facing a problem that has defined much of the year. Inflation was still running above the central bank’s 2% target, but the job market no longer looked strong enough to justify leaving policy as restrictive as it had been. Officials decided to cut rates anyway, lowering the federal…