This year, the stock market has risen significantly. Lingering worries about oil prices, inflation, the war with Iran, and the possibility of an AI bubble haven’t subsided. But the economy is expanding, corporate profits have been strong, and the S&P 500 Index set a new high last week, according to the Wall Street Journal.

In a solid earnings season, we’d generally expect S&P 500 companies to deliver double-digit profit growth, meaning earnings growth of at least 10% versus a year ago (20% tops). That’s not a hard-and-fast rule, but it provides a useful benchmark for evaluating the strength of a quarter.

“All hat and no cattle” is a traditional cowboy phrase—especially popular in Texas—describing someone who is basically a poser: plenty of talk, lots of sparkle, but little to back it up. It’s all talk and no action, and that’s the takeaway from Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh’s second Fed meeting and subsequent press conference.

The trust fund that supports Social Security retirement benefits is projected to be depleted in the fourth quarter of 2032. At that point, ongoing revenue from Social Security payroll taxes is expected to cover approximately 78% of scheduled retirement benefits.

Since the most recent market low at the end of March, semiconductors (microchips, commonly called chip stocks) have been a very popular trade. In less than three months, the PHLX Semiconductor Index has more than doubled—see Figure 1.

Just before the start of the war, WTI crude oil traded at about $67 per barrel, according to MarketWatch. By last week, the price of oil had fallen to within about $1 of its pre-war price.

The recent pickup in job growth is welcome news for job seekers. But June’s jobs report left more questions than answers. Here’s why.

As the United States approaches the 250th anniversary of its founding—a milestone known as the Semiquincentennial—the Declaration of Independence remains as important as ever.

The Federal Reserve surprised no one by holding its key rate, the fed funds rate, at 3.50–3.75%.

The latest Consumer Price Index (CPI) report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) provided investors with a modest sense of relief when it was released last Wednesday.

Well, that was a pleasant surprise. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported that nonfarm payrolls rose by 172,000 in May, more than double the 80,000 economists had expected, according to a Wall Street Journal survey.

What’s driving bond yields higher? Since the recent low, the 10-year Treasury yield has climbed nearly three-quarters of a percentage point. The 10-year is a key benchmark because many borrowing rates, including mortgage rates, closely track its movements.