Economy

A new study reaches that conclusion by comparing the U.S. to Belgium, where wages are indexed to inflation by law.

“It leaves some things out, but it is a very good gauge of the health of an economy,” said Allison Schrager, senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute and columnist at Bloomberg Opinion.

China’s consumers are spending less. A slowdown could be on the horizon.

Consumer sentiment tumbled in early August, according to the University of Michigan survey. July retail sales were down more than half a percent from June, and AAA reports the nationwide average gas price neared a record high for August.

Retail sales fell 0.6% in July, a bigger drop than expected and a sharp reversal from June's modest uptick.

Energy prices remain elevated, which affects costs of transportation, materials, and power.

Prices are up for consumers, and the stores where they are buying goods are seeing some cost increases, too.

Despite a major international conflict, markets have remained strong. There’s historical precedent for that.

The net result is that the average American household’s buying power has dwindled by 0.1% over the past year.

New delinquencies have largely stabilized after a big spike a couple of years ago, but lots of people are still carrying around old credit card debt they fell behind on.