The Fed Hits Snooze on Policy Moves It came as no surprise that the Federal Reserve maintained its benchmark rate—the fed funds rate—at 4.25% to 4.50% during last Wednesday’s meeting. Despite the moderation in the rate of inflation, central bankers didn’t hint at any...

Tariffs MIA in Latest CPI; Renewed Geopolitical Instability Inflation remained mild in May, showing little upward pressure. According to last week’s report from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose just 0.1% for the month, while the...

Trade Deficit Cut in Half The US Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) reported that the US trade deficit fell a whopping 55% in April to $61.6 billion. In March, the grade gap stood at a record $138.3 billion. April exports rose $8.3 billion to a record $289.4 billion....

From Wallets to Wall Street: Why We Hate Inflation Why is inflation widely unpopular among the public? Inflation erodes the value of money. Inflation introduces uncertainty about future prices, making it harder for households to plan budgets, save for long-term goals,...

US Exceptionalism Discussions of U.S. exceptionalism in the stock market stem from the consistent outperformance of major U.S. indexes compared to global markets. For example, over the past decade, the Global Dow is up about 103%, while the S&P 500 Index has risen...

Debbie Downer On Friday, the University of Michigan reported that the Consumer Sentiment Index for the U.S. fell to the second-lowest reading on record, with the mid-May level falling to 50.8 from April’s 52.2. “Tariffs were spontaneously mentioned by nearly...