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Home Contract Signings Rose in April as Some Buyers Push Through Rate and Inflation Pressures
Housing contract activity picked up in April, offering a modest but meaningful sign that homebuyers are continuing to engage with the market despite elevated mortgage rates, record-low consumer confidence, and the broader economic uncertainty created by the Iran...
The Stock Market Hasn’t Been This Expensive Since the Dot-Com Crash
The U.S. stock market is approaching a valuation milestone that has not been seen since the height of the dot-com bubble, raising fresh questions about whether the current AI-driven rally has pushed prices beyond what fundamentals can sustainably support. The closely...
US Import Prices Surge in April as Fuel Costs Post Biggest Jump in Four Years
American import prices rose sharply in April, with fuel costs recording their largest single-month increase in four years, adding another layer of inflationary pressure to an economy already straining under the weight of the Iran war's disruption of global energy...
Americans Are Paying More for Gas While Pulling Back on Furniture, Cars, and Clothing
The Iran war is reshaping how American consumers spend their money, with higher gasoline costs eating into household budgets and prompting a visible pullback in spending on major purchases even as overall retail activity continues to grow. Retail sales climbed 0.5% in...
Is It Time to Worry the AI Stock Rally Is Starting to Look Like 1999?
A growing number of veteran Wall Street analysts are drawing uncomfortable parallels between the current AI-driven stock market rally and the final months of the dot-com bubble, raising questions about whether investors are once again getting ahead of themselves at...
America Is Facing a Long Spell of Price Pain as Wholesale Inflation Surges
President Donald Trump has told Americans that the inflation pain from the Iran war will be short-lived, but two back-to-back inflation reports released this week tell a different story, and the bond market is beginning to signal the same concern. Wednesday's Producer...
US Inflation Rises to 3.8% in April as Wages Fall Behind for First Time in Three Years
American workers are losing ground on their paychecks for the first time since 2023 as inflation accelerated sharply in April, driven by rising energy costs, higher food prices, and housing-related increases that combined to push the annual inflation rate to its...
Oil Climbs as Trump Says Iran Ceasefire Is ‘On Life Support’ and Hormuz Stays Closed
Oil prices pushed sharply higher as the ceasefire between the United States and Iran showed renewed signs of strain, with the Strait of Hormuz remaining essentially closed to commercial traffic and global oil inventories racing toward critically low levels. Brent...
Stocks Retreat as Weekend Iran Escalation Puts Peace Talks at Risk
U.S. stock markets pulled back on Monday after a turbulent weekend of events reignited tensions between Washington and Tehran, raising fresh doubts about the durability of peace talks and sending investors back into a cautious defensive posture. The Nasdaq Composite...
Oil Plunges Below $84 as Iran Declares Strait of Hormuz Open During Ceasefire
Oil prices dropped sharply on Friday after Iran's foreign minister declared the Strait of Hormuz "completely open," triggering a significant rally in energy markets that had been under severe strain since the conflict began nearly seven weeks ago. U.S. crude oil...