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Economy

Economy news from Live News Chat: jobs, inflation, interest rates and trade, explained.

Diesel storage tanks and a moored tanker at a port terminal at dusk with a warship on the horizon

120 Million Barrels of Diesel: The US Demands Europe’s Emergency Reserves or Threatens an Export Ban

Washington wants Europe to hand over a lot of diesel, and it is attaching a threat to the request. The terms, as reported so far: The…

By Mark Masterson · Oct 2 · 3 min read

Economy
Is a Trucker Strike Starting October 1? The Rumor Traces Back to One Instagram Video

Oct 1
Politics
Trump’s Economy Approval Falls to 26%, Two Points Below Biden’s Worst in the AP-NORC Poll

Oct 1
Economy
75% of SNAP’s Administrative Costs Shift to the States Thursday, the Same Day Benefits Rise

Sep 29

More in Economy

Hand holding a fuel nozzle beside a glowing gas pump display, with SUVs and pickup trucks lined up at the station at dusk

Economy

34.5 MPG by 2031: Trump Signs Off on Rolling Back Biden’s Fuel Economy Rules

President Trump said Saturday he has approved new federal fuel economy standards, and his…

By Mark Masterson · Sep 27

A McDonald's restaurant wrapped in scaffolding and orange safety fencing during a renovation, lit golden arches above a wet parking lot at dusk

Business

$800,000 Per Restaurant Is the Real Price of McDonald’s $8.5 Billion Overhaul

McDonald’s held an investor day on Tuesday, announced a decade-long plan to rebuild its…

By Mark Masterson · Sep 24

Rows of plastic-wrapped ground beef packages in a refrigerated supermarket case, with empty white price tag holders clipped to the shelf rail

Economy

The Ground Beef Number Washington Is Quoting Is $9 a Pound, Not the $7.16 the Government Measures

A House Republican, speaking anonymously about his party’s midterm prospects, told MS NOW that…

By Mark Masterson · Sep 22

Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh at a lectern in front of a navy curtain and American flag, with a lit gas station at dusk blended into the background

Economy

Trump’s Handpicked Fed Chair Delivered a Rate Hike, Not the Cut He Was Hired For

The Fed raised rates for the first time since 2023 over Trump's objections. The…

By Mark Masterson · Sep 16

Stacked cases of motor oil on steel warehouse shelving with a small purchase-limit sign clipped to the shelf edge

Economy

Costco’s Two-Case Motor Oil Limit Traces Back to a Wrecked Gas Plant in Qatar

Costco capped Kirkland motor oil at two cases a week and pushed a 10-quart…

By Mark Masterson · Sep 14

A Walmart Supercenter at dusk with a gas station sign in the foreground showing regular unleaded above four dollars

Business

Walmart’s Slowest Sales Growth in Six Years Is a Gas Price Warning, Not a Recession Call

Walmart posted its weakest U.S. sales growth in six years as gas above $4…

By Mark Masterson · Sep 13

Global trade operations room with wall displays showing currency tickers and cross-border payment flow maps

Economy

The Dollar Still Rules, but BRICS Is Learning to Trade Without It

A widely shared claim that only 35% of trade among BRICS nations is still…

By Mark Masterson · Sep 9

Coastal oil refinery complex at dusk, distillation columns and crude storage tanks lit by orange lamps, a dark smoke plume rising from a fire inside the plant, and an oil tanker anchored offshore

Economy

Saudi Arabia Moved Its Oil West to Escape Iran. That Put It Inside Houthi Range.

Houthi strikes wounded 73 in Saudi Arabia's south. The Jazan refinery they hit has…

By Mark Masterson · Sep 8

An empty Home Depot parking lot with a For Sale by Owner yard sign in the foreground, illustrating the frozen housing market

Business

21.2% of Homeowners Already Pay 6% or More. Home Depot Still Calls It a Waiting Game.

The lock-in that was supposed to be thawing by now already flipped a year…

By Mark Masterson · Sep 3

An emptied government office floor with vacant cubicles, stacked cardboard boxes and a single desk lamp still lit, sunlight striped across the carpet through venetian blinds

Economy

The IRS Lost a Third of Its Audit Revenue, and the Money to Rebuild the Staff Ran Out on New Year’s Eve

The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration reported late last month that the IRS…

By Mark Masterson · Sep 3

A laden crude oil tanker at dusk in the Strait of Hormuz as a military helicopter tows a minesweeping sonar sled nearby

Economy

Oil at $94 Is Priced on the Mines Nobody Can Find, Not the Ones the Navy Cleared

President Donald Trump justified Tuesday’s strikes on Iran as retaliation for what he called…

By Mark Masterson · Sep 1

A line of stationary transport trucks waits under the lit canopy of a commercial border inspection plaza at night, barrier arms down and booths empty, with a Canadian flag on a pole at the left

Politics

Canada Walks Away and Suspends Trade Talks as 50% New Tariff Kicks In

Canada is done with the idiocy of the Trump regime and their use of…

By Mark Masterson · Aug 22

Archive

A line of transport trucks waits at customs booths on the Canadian side of the Ambassador Bridge, with the bridge and the Detroit skyline behind them on an overcast morning.

Economy

Three Days After Trump Declared a Canada Deal, 50 Percent Tariffs Took Effect Anyway

Aug 22

The granite colonnade of the US Treasury Department building in Washington DC beneath dark storm clouds, with wet pavement in the foreground

Economy

Bessent Doubled the Bond Buybacks and the Market Gave Him Exactly One Day

Aug 21

An open suburban mailbox holding a plain white envelope with a car parked in a driveway behind it

Business

State Farm Is Sending Back $5 Billion It Collected When Auto Premiums Jumped 20 Percent

Aug 18

A highway gas station price totem at dusk displaying regular gasoline at 4.08 and diesel at 5.43 per gallon, with a pickup truck refueling under the canopy behind it

Economy

Record August Gas at $4.08 Is a Refining Story, Not a Crude One

Aug 14

An empty school hallway lined with closed lockers, a stack of unclaimed staff ID lanyards on the front-desk counter and a paper sign on the glass reading HIRING PAUSED

Business

The Unemployment Rate Fell to 4.1% Because People Stopped Looking

Aug 7

A printed notice taped to a mailbox post in the foreground of a quiet suburban cul-de-sac of single-family homes at sunset

Economy

HOA Foreclosures Jumped 40% Because the Associations Themselves Ran Out of Money

Aug 4

Weathered hands at a kitchen table holding a calculator beside a Social Security Administration benefits statement, a utility bill and a handwritten notepad

Economy

The 2027 Social Security COLA Is Coming, and a 43-Year-Old Tax Rule Will Take a Piece of It

Jul 28

Shipping containers stacked at a US cargo port at sunset with an American flag in the foreground

Politics

Temporary Tariffs Expire Today as Trump Administration Locks in Permanent Duties on 60 Countries

Jul 24

Oil tanker at sea with fire and black smoke rising from its bow in the Red Sea

Economy

Houthis Hit Two Saudi Oil Tankers in the Red Sea, and Crude Is Suddenly Knocking on $100

Jul 23

Shipping containers with Canadian maple leaf flags at a cargo port under overcast skies

World News

New 50% Tariffs on Canadian Hockey Sticks, Cheese, and Cars, and the USMCA May Be Dead

Jul 22

Gas station price sign showing four dollars per gallon at sunset with cars at pumps

Economy

Gas Prices Hit $4 a Gallon Again as Iran War Squeezes American Wallets

Jul 21

The US Capitol building at golden hour with suburban single-family homes in the foreground

Economy

The Largest Housing Bill in a Generation Just Became Law Without Trump’s Signature

Jul 11

Empty factory floor with abandoned work boots in golden light, idle conveyor belt in background

Economy

The June Jobs Report Just Confirmed What Workers Already Knew: This Economy Is Running on Fumes

Jul 3

A balance scale weighing a gold US dollar symbol against the euro and Japanese yen, set against a foreign-exchange dashboard of candlestick charts and exchange-rate tickers

Forex

Strong Currency vs. Weak Currency: Which Is Better?

Jun 29

120 Million Barrels of Diesel: The US Demands Europe’s Emergency Reserves or Threatens an Export Ban

Is a Trucker Strike Starting October 1? The Rumor Traces Back to One Instagram Video

Trump’s Economy Approval Falls to 26%, Two Points Below Biden’s Worst in the AP-NORC Poll

75% of SNAP’s Administrative Costs Shift to the States Thursday, the Same Day Benefits Rise

34.5 MPG by 2031: Trump Signs Off on Rolling Back Biden’s Fuel Economy Rules

$800,000 Per Restaurant Is the Real Price of McDonald’s $8.5 Billion Overhaul

The Ground Beef Number Washington Is Quoting Is $9 a Pound, Not the $7.16 the Government Measures

Trump’s Handpicked Fed Chair Delivered a Rate Hike, Not the Cut He Was Hired For

Costco’s Two-Case Motor Oil Limit Traces Back to a Wrecked Gas Plant in Qatar

Walmart’s Slowest Sales Growth in Six Years Is a Gas Price Warning, Not a Recession Call

The Dollar Still Rules, but BRICS Is Learning to Trade Without It

Saudi Arabia Moved Its Oil West to Escape Iran. That Put It Inside Houthi Range.

21.2% of Homeowners Already Pay 6% or More. Home Depot Still Calls It a Waiting Game.

The IRS Lost a Third of Its Audit Revenue, and the Money to Rebuild the Staff Ran Out on New Year’s Eve

Oil at $94 Is Priced on the Mines Nobody Can Find, Not the Ones the Navy Cleared

Canada Walks Away and Suspends Trade Talks as 50% New Tariff Kicks In

Three Days After Trump Declared a Canada Deal, 50 Percent Tariffs Took Effect Anyway

Bessent Doubled the Bond Buybacks and the Market Gave Him Exactly One Day

State Farm Is Sending Back $5 Billion It Collected When Auto Premiums Jumped 20 Percent

Record August Gas at $4.08 Is a Refining Story, Not a Crude One

The Unemployment Rate Fell to 4.1% Because People Stopped Looking

HOA Foreclosures Jumped 40% Because the Associations Themselves Ran Out of Money

The 2027 Social Security COLA Is Coming, and a 43-Year-Old Tax Rule Will Take a Piece of It

Temporary Tariffs Expire Today as Trump Administration Locks in Permanent Duties on 60 Countries

Houthis Hit Two Saudi Oil Tankers in the Red Sea, and Crude Is Suddenly Knocking on $100

New 50% Tariffs on Canadian Hockey Sticks, Cheese, and Cars, and the USMCA May Be Dead

Gas Prices Hit $4 a Gallon Again as Iran War Squeezes American Wallets

The Largest Housing Bill in a Generation Just Became Law Without Trump’s Signature

The June Jobs Report Just Confirmed What Workers Already Knew: This Economy Is Running on Fumes

Strong Currency vs. Weak Currency: Which Is Better?