Finance
-
Driving less, canceling vacations, and tightening budgets: All the ways Americans are coping with soaring gas prices
The war in Iran has done what once seemed impossible: forced Americans to rethink the idea of driving everywhere. The conflict in the Middle East itself might be teetering on a tentative ceasefire, but higher gasoline prices are likely here to stay. The average price for a gallon of regular gasoline on Friday was $4.54,…
-
The CEO of Maersk, which ships 14% of everything you buy, said the Iran war is adding $500 million in monthly costs it’s trying not to pass down
A prolonged war in Iran will bump the odds of inflation while simultaneously forcing a slowdown in consumer demand. All of this is troubling for the chief executive of container shipping giant Maersk, who warned that deadly combination is already rocking the global shipping sector. “The war in the Middle East created a new wake-up call…
-
Iran may have a higher tolerance for economic pain—but the pain is excruciating as regime reveals 100% inflation in just days on some items
Iran’s regime has so far withstood U.S. and Israeli bombardment, but the economic forces that sparked the most serious conflict in decades have only gotten more severe. Spiraling inflation and a collapsing currency set off mass protests in late December and early January, prompting a brutal crackdown that is estimated to have left tens of…
-
Michael Saylor says remarks about selling Bitcoin were intended to jam short-sellers and ‘haters’
Michael Saylor is the world’s foremost Bitcoin buyer. “You do not sell your Bitcoin,” wrote the crypto billionaire in October. But, on a Tuesday earnings call, Saylor, whose company Strategy has accumulated $65 billion in Bitcoin since 2020, changed his tune: “We will probably sell some Bitcoin to fund a dividend just to inoculate the…
-
Ray Dalio: the ‘heart attack’ of America’s debt crisis is just the beginning of a ‘great turbulence’ that will reshape the country
Ray Dalio has been warning for years that America’s debt problem could trigger an economic “heart attack.” Now he’s saying that’s only part of the story. The billionaire founder of Bridgewater Associates is widening his alarm, arguing in a recent conversation with The New York Times‘ Ross Douthat that the U.S. is entering a period of…
-
The job market is healing for everyone—except in the office
The U.S. labor market added 115,000 jobs in April, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday, beating economist expectationsand marking the second straight month of gains. The unemployment rate held at 4.3%. After a 2025 where monthly job growth averaged an anemic 10,000, the 2026 average is now 76,000—enough of an improvement that economists are…
-
Current price of oil as of May 8, 2026
At 9 a.m. Eastern Time today, oil was priced at $104.07 per barrel with Brent serving as the benchmark (we’ll explain different benchmarks later in this article). That’s a gain of $3.62 compared with yesterday morning and around $40 higher than the price one year ago. Oil price per barrel % Change Price of oil…
-
U.S. economy surprises with 115,000 new jobs created in April
America’s employers a delivered a surprising 115,000 new jobs last month despite an economic shock from the Iran war. Hiring was better than the 65,000 forecasters had expected, though it decelerated from the 185,000 jobs created in March. The unemployment rate remained at a low 4.3%. The Iran war has caused the biggest disruption of…
-
New York is going to tax the wealthy’s second homes, but not tax wealth itself
People who buy luxurious second homes in New York City, but live most of the year elsewhere, would have to pay a new tax on the properties under a tentative agreement — an initiative to appease Mayor Zohran Mamdani and liberal voters who launched him into office with chants of “tax the rich.” But the…
-
Wall Street piles into ‘NACHO’ bet on looming oil shortages in June
Good morning. On Fortune’s radar today: AI’s rampant token fraud problem. Markets: Stocks fall as shooting resumes in the Gulf. The ceasefire is still in effect, Trump says. Wall Street’s new “NACHO trade.” Oil begins to run out in June, J.P. Morgan warns. The surprisingly good news about unemployment. The economics of being unhappy. Quick…