Inflation may be cooling off from last year's 40-year high, but many Americans are still feeling squeezed by the cost of living. Recent research shows most people are living paycheck to paycheck, even...
Bracing Your Finances for the New Normal of Moderately High Inflation
The latest inflation reading may be down from last year's 40-year high, but many Americans aren't feeling much relief. Recent surveys show over 60% are living paycheck to paycheck, with nearly half of...
August Job Creation Tops Forecasts, But Unemployment Ticks Higher, Wage Growth Slows
The August jobs report released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics on Friday indicated a mixed picture for the U.S. labor market, as job creation exceeded expectations, but simultaneously, the unemploy...
Soybean Yields at Risk: Damage from Recent Heat and Dryness Could Worsen
This year's Pro Farmer Midwest Crop Tour was highly anticipated due to the early season problems and high variability seen in the soybean crop. The tour measures soybean pod counts in 3x3 foot squares...
El Niño to Boost Prices of Cocoa, Soybean Oil, and Sugar
The El Niño weather phenomenon is back on the radar. A new update from the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) forecasts that there is a 90% probability of the El Niño event continuing during the ...
The Fed’s Focus on Your Paycheck: How Rising Interest Rates Will Affect Your Wallet
The Federal Reserve has a dual mandate: to keep inflation low and to maximize employment. But sometimes, these two goals conflict with each other. For example, if the Fed raises interest rates to comb...
The Credit Downgrade: What It Means for Investors and the U.S. Economy
The recent downgrade of the United States’ credit rating from AAA to AA+ by Fitch Ratings has sent shockwaves through the financial world. This is only the second time in U.S. history that a ratings a...
U.S. Credit Rating Downgraded to AA+ by Fitch, First Time in More Than a Decade
Fitch Ratings downgraded the U.S. government’s credit rating on Tuesday, warning about the growing debt burden and political dysfunction in Washington.
The downgrade, the first by a major ratings f...
BOJ’s YCC Tweak Signals Continued Volatility in Japanese Markets
The Bank of Japan (BOJ) has been under pressure to tighten monetary policy as inflation in Japan has risen to its highest level in decades. However, the BOJ has so far resisted these calls, and in its...
How the Economy Has Evolved, and What It Means for the Future of Inflation
The U.S. economy has undergone a significant transformation in recent decades, and this has had a major impact on the relationship between interest rates, jobs, and inflation.
In the past, the link...