Economy
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Good news: Rumors of a K-shaped economy are overblown so far, says Goldman Sachs. Bad news: 2026 is the year it will really bite
Despite the consternation around the K-shaped economy, Goldman Sachs’ chief U.S. economist is of the opinion that rumors of consumers’ demise has been greatly exaggerated. In the past year, particularly amid households clamoring for relief amid affordability challenges, many economists had speculated that a “K” shape was emerging in the data: High-earning households were continuing
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People living in the U.S. with temporary protected status, targeted by Trump, are a $29 billion economic force
Later this month, the Supreme Court will hear arguments on the Trump administration’s efforts to strip a humanitarian immigration benefit from Haitians and Syrians. It’s a case that will affect more than 350,000 people who live in the U.S. under a Temporary Protected Status (TPS), part of a much larger group that has grown into
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The tech industry is applying an Uber-style ‘gigification’ model to nursing. It means no workers’ comp, AI managers, and ‘surveillance wages’
In the late 2000s, surging unemployment during the financial crash gave rise to the gig economy, later supercharged by the emergence of ride-sharing and food-delivery apps. Almost two decades later, gig work is as big as it’s ever been, and is creeping into one of the country’s most essential and historically stable professions. Last year,
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When interest on national debt overtook military spending, it triggered a limit where the U.S. may ‘cease to be a great power’, warns Hoover historian
Interest payments on the U.S. national debt are set to surpass $1 trillion in 2026, some $88 billion a month—equal to spending on defense and education combined. The economy has tripped past this point before: that is, there have been brief periods in history when service payments on the debt have outweighed military spending, for
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The Iran war is pushing Southeast Asia to debate the once unthinkable: Whether ships will need to pay to transit the Strait of Malacca
Iran’s decision to charge fees for ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz—and U.S. President Donald Trump’s tentative endorsement of that idea—are reverbarting in a different waterway around four thousand miles away. On April 22, Indonesia’s finance minister, Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa, suggested the Southeast Asian country might start imposing levies on ships transiting the Strait of
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How Spirit Airlines’ business model collapsed—and why a Trump bailout could make things worse
During a CNBC interview on April 21, President Trump for the first time hatched the possibility of an administration-led rescue plan for stricken Spirit Airlines. “Spirit’s in trouble,” declared the POTUS, “Maybe the federal government should help out on that one…it’s 14,000 jobs.” Prior to Trump’s statement, few if any were speculating on such a
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Trump administration reportedly nears $500 million rescue deal for Spirit Airlines
The Trump administration is nearing a rescue package for Spirit Airlines that could provide up to $500 million in financing for the struggling budget carrier, the Wall Street Journal reported. The deal, which has not been finalized, would reportedly give the government warrants to purchase Spirit stock, potentially leaving taxpayers with a meaningful stake in
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Beef is becoming a luxury as prices stay at record highs. They likely won’t come down until 2028, says expert
If you walked right past the meat aisle on your last trip to the grocery store, you’re not the only one. Beef is starting to feel like a luxury as prices stay at record highs, and there’s no end in sight for markups. Ground beef averaged about $6.70 per pound in March, nearly a dollar
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Wall Street won’t like it—but Kevin Warsh may mark the end of your chatty, neighborhood Fed chairman
When Jerome Powell leaves the meetings that set the U.S. Federal Reserve’s base rate to go talk to the press, analysts and investors are on the edge of their seats. His nominated replacement, Kevin Warsh, wants their butts firmly and comfortably planted—preferably on a deep, over-stuffed couch. “The central bank should find new comfort in
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‘I thought the oil would be much higher’: Trump’s rosy Iran war spin risks sending traders the wrong message
President Donald Trump said Tuesday he was caught off guard—pleasantly—by how well the U.S. economy held up during his war with Iran. Wall Street’s top analysts say he’s got part of the story right, and the rest dangerously wrong. “Even when it was down more a couple of weeks ago, I was surprised,” Trump told