Support our non-partisan non-profit newsroom 💜 Donate now

'Uncertainty' was the byword of the 2023 markets. Will 2024 be the same way?

Jan 2, 2024
Despite the anxiety, 2023 closed out pretty well for investors. But that hasn't resulted in a unified sense of optimism.
Traders on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange ring in the new year. Economists don't have a consensus on how the year will go.
Spencer Platt/Getty Images

The job market's turbulent – and likely to remain that way

Nov 5, 2021
Between COVID, shifting policy, and "The Big Quit", it's hard to get a handle on how the employment picture's changing.
In August, job growth fell by two-thirds to just about 360,000, and September was not even at 200,000. The nature of the job market has been difficult to forecast.
ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images

Stock futures, oil prices bounce after Trump falsely asserts he won

Nov 4, 2020
As of 4 a.m. Eastern time, Trump and his Democratic challenger Joe Biden still were locked in tight races in a handful of battleground states.
Trump said early Wednesday at the White House, “Frankly, we did win this election.” That assertion did not match the results and information available to the AP.
Jung Yeon-Je/AFP via Getty Images

Wall Street follows world markets higher as Americans vote on Election Day

Nov 3, 2020
Markets are up on investor hopes that a Joe Biden victory in the U.S. presidential election might lead to more economic stimulus.
Many investors expect a “Democratic sweep, which is the key to unlocking Congress’s ability to deliver significant fiscal stimulus,” said Stephen Innes of Axi in a report.
Kerem Yucel/AFP via Getty Images

Stocks plunge, resuming volatility, as traders, analysts find data lagging

Mar 5, 2020
"Analysts have their hands in the air," one investment strategist says as markets struggle to predict the future.
There's evidence that the more markets go up and down, the more they are driven by emotion.
Johannes Eisele/AFP via Getty Images

Iran tensions sent global markets into a frenzy. They were quick to rebound.

Jan 8, 2020
Is this cause for optimism? Not so fast, says one expert.
Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange on January 08, 2020 in New York City.
Spencer Platt/Getty Images

For public good, not for profit.

How Merriam-Webster “measures” volatility vs. the VIX

Jan 11, 2019
Searches for "volatility" rose 253 percent in 2018, according to data from Merriam-Webster.
Janet Nguyen/Marketplace

Hey, what’s going on in the economy?

Feb 9, 2018
Five days of volatile markets, a five-hour government shutdown and one budget bill later ...
Traders and financial professionals work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange at the closing bell on Feb. 2.
Drew Angerer/Getty Images

Today’s trading was the very definition of volatility

Feb 6, 2018
But the bigger context is volatility in the markets has actually been falling over the last 30 years.
Scott Olson / Getty Images