Latest Stories

Latest Stories

Labor costs fell in July. That may be what the Fed's been looking for.

Aug 13, 2024
The decline helped bring the annual rate of inflation at the wholesale level down to 2.2%.
The decline in labor costs means a decline in jobs, or wages, or both. That's bad news for workers, but will it encourage the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates? Above, Fed Chair Jerome Powell.
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Why Canada has become a critical supplier of crude oil to the U.S.

Aug 13, 2024
It's an international love story of sorts, featuring "thick, heavy, goopy crude oil."
"We're now in this position where we have these very high-tech refineries that can process the really heavy crude,” says Ryan Kellogg with the University of Chicago.
Yuri Cortez/AFP via Getty Images

U.S. debt just hit $35 trillion. Is it putting the global economy at risk?

Aug 13, 2024
If you add up government debt around the world, it totals $91 trillion. More than a third of it comes from one country: The U.S.
The national debt has ballooned to cosmic proportions.
NASA/JHUAPL/SWRI via Getty Images

How the snack industry is responding to Ozempic

Aug 13, 2024
Food and beverage developers are working overtime on new products that appeal to the changing tastes of obesity drug users.
People taking appetite-suppressing treatments like Ozempic are more likely to eat small servings of high-protein foods rather than large portions of salty snacks and baked goods.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Getting creative in the competition for health care workers

Aug 13, 2024
Competition for medical workers can be fierce, requiring incentives like housing assistance or student loan repayments to recruit new hires.
As wages creep up in other industries, health care has to compete. Above, a nurse visits a patient at her home.
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What if tips weren't taxed?

Aug 13, 2024
Both Donald Trump and Kamala Harris support eliminating federal taxes on tips. It might attract votes from tipped workers, who make up 2.5% of the American labor force. But what would it mean for tax policy?
The Tax Foundation estimates that eliminating income taxes on tips would cost at least $107 billion in revenue over 10 years.
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Why the so-called “left behind” bloc might be doing better than you think

The Economist digs into data regarding those who lost their jobs in manufacturing.
Above, the Gautier Steel Mill in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, in September 2016. "The traditional Rust Belt states ... actually have had lower unemployment rates than the national average," said The Economist's Zanny Minton-Beddoes.
Dominik Reuter/AFP via Getty Images

For public good, not for profit.

Why the New York Fed asks ordinary folks where inflation is headed

Aug 12, 2024
Consumers' price expectations influence how they save and spend their money, potentially creating self-fulfilling prophecies.
Even though consumers don't make scientific predictions, there's value in understanding their expectations of the economy.
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When stocks get volatile, many pros hedge their bets with bonds

Aug 12, 2024
When stocks go up, bond prices typically go down, and vice versa. But that inverse relationship isn't a given.
When the stock market dips, bonds can be an option to protect portfolios' stability.
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Lots of people are traveling this summer, but some hotels see lower occupancy

Aug 12, 2024
Higher-income travelers have splashed out, but people with lower incomes have reined in spending because of rising prices.
TSA screenings have hit record highs this summer. Where is everyone traveling to?
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