Republicans' confidence in the economy has plummeted over the last six months at a pace unseen since Covid — reminiscent of the declines during the global financial crisis nearly two decades ago.
Why it matters: Usually, the president's party is upbeat about the economy, while the party out of power is far more downcast. What's striking now is that Republicans have grown increasingly sour this year, even with a Republican president in office.
Tesla's decision to let passengers start booking rides in its driverless Cybercab has triggered a high-stakes test of how far automakers can stretch outdated federal safety rules while regulators race to rewrite them.
Why it matters: Tesla and the Trump administration share the same goal — clearing regulatory barriers to autonomous vehicles — but they may disagree over how quickly Tesla can get there.
The big picture: Gasoline prices are almost certain to remainnorth of $4 per gallon over Labor Day weekend — a heavy travel stretch and the time when midterm election season intensifies.
The labor market looks considerably healthier than it did at the start of the summer.
Why it matters: Friday morning's jobs report recast the last two months as a period of modest job growth rather than of outright deterioration, capped by a gain last month that was more than triple what economists expected.
U.S. employers added 162,000 jobs in August, while the unemployment rate held steady at 4.1%, the Labor Department said on Friday.
Why it matters: The better-than-expected report is fresh evidence of the labor market's resilience, easing fears that a hiring slowdown had taken hold.
It used to be that if yields on U.S. government bonds were rising, you could pretty much assume that stocks would be on the upswing, too. Not anymore.
Why it matters: When such longstanding market relationships — known on Wall Street as "correlations" — change, it often mirrors adjustments in investor thinking that can set markets on a new course.
The Dutch central bank said this week that it was shifting about 86 tonnes of gold bars out of New York and Canada and moving them closer to home.
Why it matters: Countries are rethinking where they stash their gold reserves, as relations with the United States have frayed and geopolitical unrest has risen.
The move comes at a time when the status of the U.S. at the center of the world financial system is in question.
Foreign governments also now hold a much lower share of U.S. Treasury bonds.
The average price of diesel topped its 2022 record high on Friday, spiking to $5.85 per gallon, per AAA.
Why it matters: Farmers, truckers and freight companies have been absorbing higher diesel costs since the Iran war began. The ballooning price threatens to further raise shipping costs while compounding a growing political problem for President Trump.
