The U.S. dollar's decline accelerated this week following more data that shows inflation is cooling.
Driving the news: The ICE U.S. Dollar Index, which measures the currency against a basket of six major rivals, is on pace to reach its lowest level in over a year, MarketWatch notes.
The Eurotrip is back, no matter how much it costs.
Why it matters: Travel from the U.S.to Europewas projected to surge 55% this summer, per Allianz, which based its estimate on the company's bookings. The surge comes even as airfare and hotel prices have spiked.
Bigger prizes — and fewer jackpot winners — have become the norm since Powerball and Mega Millions made the games harder to win and more enticing to play a few years ago.
Why it matters: Two of the largest Powerball and Mega Millions jackpots are now up for grabs after months without grand-prize winners.
Two summer blockbusters, Barbie and Oppenheimer,opening Friday have spurred a cultural phenomenon that has taken the internet by storm — Barbenheimer.
Why it matters: As theatrical releases have struggled to recover from the pandemic, the double release could be the last big summer blowout at the box office as the Hollywood strikes take hold.
A huge debate currently animatingFed watchers and policymakers is whether or not the bulk of the past year's aggressive interest rate hikes has already hit the economy.
Driving the news: Fed governor Christopher Waller, an influential official, seems to believe the answer is yes.
Even in a tight labor market where the lowest-wage workers are seeing outsized gains, gig drivers, who deliver food or people for companies like Uber or DoorDash, are having a hard time notching pay wins.
Driving the news: A minimum wage of $17.96 an hour for food delivery workers in New York City was supposed to go into effect this week, but a last-minute lawsuit from the app companies put the law on hold.
The media industry is facing an unprecedented level of disruption, leading to a series of major challenges all coming to a head this summer.
Why it matters: The sudden rise of generative AI combined with the slow death of traditional television and print is leading to a historic number of strikes and job losses that will impact most of the media, news and entertainment that Americans rely on daily.
If you spend your life looking at economic data, these look like the best of times. Inflation is a mere 3%, and unemployment is hovering near 50-year lows. That, however, is not how the bulk of Americans see it.
Why it matters: Americans' views of the economy are colored by their politics as much as the actual state of the economy.
