Economic growth in the US is strong right now. We'll get more evidence with the April jobs report later this week, which could show as many as two million more jobs created. But an important manufacturing survey released on Monday suggests that the fastest growth may be behind us. Even though the…

For the past generation, Amazon.com Inc. has been the centerpiece of a prevailing view that the growth of the internet has had a deflationary impact. Online shopping brought transparency to every aspect of the economy, increasing competition and taking pricing power away from companies that used to…

There's been a lot of optimism in the past few months that the US economy would bounce back from the pandemic with a 7% growth spurt this year, boosted by the rollout of vaccines, fiscal stimulus and pent-up demand. It's one of the reasons why the S&P 500 closed Friday at an all-time high. But…

If you're planning a trip this summer, book your rental vehicle before you book your flight or hotel — that is, if you can find one you can afford. The rental vehicle shortage is the latest supply chain-related bottleneck that threatens to constrain the post-pandemic economy. The severity of the…

The pandemic might make this hard to see right now, but if you look out on the horizon you can see a future where the changes that began early last year are paving the way to a future where young people can buy houses and start families earlier than they've been able to in a while. That's quite…

For years following the Great Recession, households faced a number of financial hurdles hindering their ability to buy a home. The three biggest were: a weak labor market that didn't give workers enough income to purchase a house; elevated levels of student loan debt; and high apartment rents that…

A coalition of states is suing to try to break up Facebook Inc. — the latest event to call the company's future into question. If Microsoft Corp.'s antitrust ordeal is at all analogous — over three years from suit to settlement — it could be a long time before the outcome of all this is known. And…

The impact of the housing market on the 2008 financial crisis couldn't have been more different than what we've seen during this year's recession. While housing acted as a strong headwind slowing the economic recovery 12 years ago, not it's looking like a tailwind that will help lift the economy as…

October state employment data, released Friday, underscored the lopsided way the pandemic is hitting state economies. Even with an effective vaccine on the horizon, we should expect this performance divide to continue in the months ahead until activities can get back to normal. That will mean…