The record price of diesel threatens to stoke inflation at a time when consumers are already price-sensitive and businesses are reeling from higher costs due to trade tensions.
Why it matters: Diesel is a key cost throughout the supply chain, meaning soaring prices could eventually show up in what consumers pay for everything from groceries to household goods.
Suicide death rates among 10- to 14-year-old girls and boys nearly evened out from 2018 to 2024, according to new research published this week.
Why it matters: The research found that suicide death ratesbetween boys and girls nearly evened out during the years analyzed, bucking previous data showing boys had higher suicide death rates, though girls think about and attempt suicide more often.
Data: AdImpact; Note: AdImpact data includes dollars spent on video advertisements on broadcast, cable and social media as well as spending estimates on streaming platforms; Chart: Stef Kight/Axios
Republicans are outspending Democrats in almost every battleground Senate race this month as Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) looks to the GOP's cash advantage to help hold his majority.
Why it matters: The post-Labor Day rush is here, with $390 million (and climbing) of Senate campaign ads headed for voters' TVs, tablets and phone screens.
Frank X. Shaw, Microsoft's longtime chief communications officer, will leave the company at the end of December after 17 years in the role and nearly three decades working with the tech giant.
Why it matters: Shaw has been a steady presence through enormous changes at Microsoft, helping shape how the company communicates across multiple CEO eras and successive technological shifts.
On September 23 at 6:00pm ET, tune into conversations withRep. April McClain Delaney (D-Md.), Healthcare Leadership Council president and CEO Maria Ghazal andSen. Todd Young (R-Ind.) on conversations examining how the U.S. can maintain its global leadership in biotechnology as international competition accelerates.
The program will also include a sponsored View from the Top segment featuring Ashley Magargee, CEO at Genentech.
Consumer prices remained elevated in August as the Iran war's energy shock fueled a fresh burst of inflation.
Why it matters: The renewed price pressures are squeezing household budgets, with signs that underlying inflation is proving stubborn across the broader economy.
The data could strengthen the case for the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates next week.
Note: S&P Global adjusted debt metric accounts for items including company cash holdings and the value of future lease obligations and power purchase agreements. Data: S&P Global; Chart: Matt Phillips/Axios
AI financing is getting bigger and more complicated, and the pristine credit ratings of the Big Tech hyperscalers are at risk, warns S&P.
Why it matters: The enormous sums these companies are spending — it's in the trillions of dollars, much of it borrowed, some invested in riskier businesses — to fund data centers and other AI-related infrastructure are fueling U.S. economic growth overall.
