A Q2 to Remember “S&P 500 Index, Nasdaq Log Their Best Quarter since 2020,” read a story in the Wall Street Journal. “Dow Heads for Best First Half in 5 Years,” according to CNBC. And it wasn’t simply the biggest U.S. firms, which are represented in the Dow, the...

1776 to Today: Reflections on the Fourth of July As the United States approaches the 250th anniversary of its founding—a milestone known as the Semiquincentennial—the Declaration of Independence remains as important as ever. The treasured document declared the 13...

There’s a New Sheriff in Town The Federal Reserve surprised no one by holding its key rate, the fed funds rate, at 3.50–3.75%. But given the Fed’s full-throated rhetorical assault on inflation under newly installed Kevin Warsh, who took the helm from Jay Powell after...

The Latest on Inflation The latest Consumer Price Index (CPI) report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) provided investors with a modest sense of relief when it was released last Wednesday. According to the BLS, headline CPI rose 0.5% in May and is up 4.2%...

Hiring Ramps Up Well, that was a pleasant surprise. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported that nonfarm payrolls rose by 172,000 in May, more than double the 80,000 economists had expected, according to a Wall Street Journal survey. On top of that, the most...

An AI Boost to Jobs “AI Is Erasing Entry-Level Jobs—and the Training That Comes with Them,” according to a January story from Forbes. That, at least, is the conventional wisdom. But does the conventional wisdom collide with reality? There may be some good news brewing...