Housing Market
The U.S. housing market faced a chilling end to 2025 as the National Association of Realtors (NAR) reported a staggering 9.3% plunge in pending home sales for December. This sharp month-over-month decline pushed contract signings to their lowest level since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020,
Jobless Claims
The United States labor market once again demonstrated its remarkable durability as initial jobless claims for the week ending January 24, 2026, fell to a seasonally adjusted 200,000. This figure arrived significantly lower than the consensus forecast of 206,000, signaling that despite high interest rates and a cooling
Natural Gas
The final week of January 2026 has etched itself into the annals of energy market history as a brutal Arctic front, dubbed "Winter Storm Fern," paralyzed much of the United States. This extreme weather event transformed the natural gas market into a theater of unprecedented volatility, where supply-demand
Natural Gas
The global natural gas market witnessed an extraordinary "great divergence" in December 2025, as a brutal cold snap in North America sent domestic prices soaring while a mild, windy winter in Europe allowed the continent’s energy crisis fears to cool. U.S. natural gas futures surged by
Gold
In a historic move that has sent shockwaves through global financial centers, spot gold prices officially breached the $5,000 per ounce milestone on January 26, 2026. This unprecedented ascent represents a 65% surge over the last calendar year, signaling a radical shift in investor sentiment as the "barometer
Trump Tariffs
On March 3, 2025, the relative calm of the North American trade landscape was shattered by a midday announcement from the Roosevelt Room. President Donald Trump, citing a national emergency under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), declared the immediate implementation of sweeping tariffs on goods imported from Canada
Housing Market
The United States housing market entered 2026 on icy footing as newly released data for December 2025 reveals a staggering decline in pending home sales. According to the National Association of Realtors (NAR), contract signings dropped by 9.3% month-over-month, while competing data from Redfin (NASDAQ:RDFN) noted a 5.
Federal Reserve
The transition of leadership at the Federal Reserve has taken a dramatic turn as of January 19, 2026, with reports indicating that Kevin Hassett is no longer the frontrunner to succeed Jerome Powell as Chair of the central bank. For months, Hassett—the current Director of the National Economic Council—
Market Outlook 2026
As of January 19, 2026, the era of "narrow leadership" that defined the post-pandemic bull market has officially given way to a new regime: the "Great Convergence." For nearly three years, a handful of mega-cap technology titans—the "Magnificent Seven"—shouldered the entire weight
Venezuela
As of mid-January 2026, the global aluminum market is witnessing a profound transformation in South America, driven by the near-total operational collapse of Venezuela’s state-owned smelting sector. Following the dramatic geopolitical shift on January 3, 2026, which saw the capture of Nicolás Maduro by U.S. forces, the Venezuelan
Housing Market
The American housing market, long frozen by the dual chill of high interest rates and stagnant inventory, showed definitive signs of a "winter thaw" this week. According to the latest data released on January 14, 2026, existing home sales for December 2025 surged by 5.1% to a
Retail Sales
The American consumer remains the bedrock of the economy, as evidenced by a surprise jump in November retail sales data released today, January 14, 2026. Despite a backdrop of political uncertainty and a 43-day federal government shutdown that delayed the reporting cycle, the figures revealed a robust appetite for spending.