Economy Mar 14 High inflation complicates Federal Reserve’s response to bank failures Days after the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank, there are plenty of questions being asked about the health of banks in the U.S. Sheila Bair served as the chair of the FDIC from 2006 to 2011 and…
Economy Mar 13 Government takes steps to shore up confidence after collapse of two banks sparks fears Regional banks took a beating and suffered their deepest losses in years on the stock market Monday. It came after the government's top financial authorities spent the weekend taking action to shore up confidence around the system after the failure…
Nation Mar 06 COVID disruptions at work lead to baby boom As the COVID-19 pandemic enters its fourth year, one unexpected results has been a rise in birth rates. It's the first major reversal in declining U.S. fertility rates since 2007. Special correspondent and Washington Post columnist Catherine Rampell reports on…
Economy Jan 30 What’s causing the price of eggs to skyrocket nationwide? Prices at the grocery store have risen for many foods, but the cost of eggs climbed the most in the last year and consumers have scrambled to keep up. What's behind so-called Eggflation? Economics correspondent Paul Solman takes a look.
Economy Dec 26 Millions of ‘unbanked’ Americans lack adequate access to financial services It's not well known, but about 4.5% of U.S. households are unbanked, meaning no one in the house has a checking or savings account. The rate declined during the pandemic because people opened accounts to receive government stimulus funds. But…
Economy Nov 02 How interest rate hikes impact bonds and stock prices With the sixth interest hike this year, it's been decades since the Federal Reserve has acted this aggressively to slow inflation. Markets reacted strongly to Fed Chair Jay Powell saying rates will be higher than previously expected. Swings tied to…
Economy Oct 11 The major factors driving up the cost of food Another report on the pace of inflation in the U.S. is due later this week and there's some hope that it's slowing. But most people have noticed higher prices at the grocery store on everything from dairy to meat to…
Economy Oct 07 Jobs report shows economy, employment market cooling as questions of recession remain The September jobs report shows the economy and employment market cooling but remaining steady. The labor market added 263,000 jobs, but that's down from the first half of the year when roughly 400,000 jobs were created a month. Stocks sank…
Economy Aug 18 American cities, states can’t find enough workers despite an influx of federal funding The number of Americans filing for unemployment fell to 250,000 last week, dipping for the first time in three weeks. But as students across the country return to school, many districts are facing staff shortages. State and local governments are…
Economy Jul 29 Manufacturers use ‘shrinkflation’ to pass costs on to consumers With inflation at a 40-year high in the U.S., we are all spending more when we go to the store. But there is another dimension of inflation these days called "shrinkflation." Economics correspondent Paul Solman explains.