Economy

There were once thousands of credit agencies in the U.S. But in the 1970s, the industry began to consolidate.

The National Association of Realtors reports that the median first-time buyer topped 40 for the first time ever.

“The only thing certain is uncertainty,” said Brian Duncan, an Illinois hog and soybean farmer.

When times are uncertain, businesses often turn to temp workers to test the waters before hiring full-time employees.

“Businesses say they would have raised wages by roughly an additional percentage point” had it not been for rising health insurance costs, said senior economics contributor Chris Farrell.

The word “resilient” came up in multiple earnings calls this week.

Businesses are passing costs on to customers, consolidating packages and, in some cases, taking shipping into their own hands.

Fed Chair Jay Powell said there’s been essentially no job creation in the private sector in the last six months. But unemployment also remains low. What does this mean for the labor market, and the economy?

A breakdown of how much you’re paying for Social Security, health care, food assistance, the national debt, defense, and more.

As with many major geopolitical events, the war in Iran could be a headwind or a tailwind for different parts of banks’ businesses.