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The Beat

Economy

Macro reporting anchored in the data: inflation prints, jobs reports, rate decisions and trade policy, read for what they reveal about where economies are actually heading.

28 articles Updated 31 Jul 2026 Page 1 of 2

More from Economy

Page 1 of 2
PDVSA oil towers in Maracaibo, Venezuela. Photo: Wilfredor, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons
Economy

Venezuelan Oil Revenue Tops $13 Billion While Congress Demands Accounting

Trump says Venezuelan oil sales under US control have topped $13 billion, but only $300 million is publicly traced to Caracas, fueling audit demands in Congress.

27 Jul 2026 ·8 min read
Social Security Administration headquarters campus in Woodlawn, Maryland, which oversees the SSI program. Photo: Coolcaesar / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
Economy

SSI Payment Calendar Quirk Leaves August Without a Check for 7.5 Million

Supplemental Security Income recipients get two checks in July and none in August as a weekend calendar rule moves the payment up to Friday, July 31.

27 Jul 2026 ·5 min read
Gordie Howe International Bridge spanning the Detroit River in July 2026. Photo: WMrapids, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons
Economy

Gordie Howe Bridge Opens to Traffic While Tariff Fight Strains Its Purpose

North America's busiest trade corridor gained a second span as the Gordie Howe bridge opened between Detroit and Windsor under the shadow of a deepening tariff war.

27 Jul 2026 ·5 min read
Marriner S. Eccles Federal Reserve Board Building in Washington, where the FOMC is meeting this week. Photo: AgnosticPreachersKid / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
Economy

Fed Opens Two-Day Meeting With Markets Pricing Real Chance of a Rate Hike

Federal Reserve policymakers opened their July meeting with futures pricing a real chance of a rate hike after oil's surge rekindled inflation fears.

27 Jul 2026 ·5 min read
High-voltage transmission lines silhouetted against the sun near Galveston Bay in Texas, one of 17 states under the federal order. Photo: Jim Olive / Wikimedia Commons, Public domain
Economy

Grid Emergency Powers Extend Across 17 States as Heat Strains Supply

Energy Department order lets the Southwest Power Pool tap backup generation across 17 states as extreme heat pushes the central US grid to its limits.

27 Jul 2026 ·5 min read
Container cranes and stacked shipping containers at Yangshan deep-water port near Shanghai, the export gateway sustaining Chinese factory earnings. Photo: Acstar / Wikimedia Commons, CC0.
Economy

China Industrial Profits Slow as Exports Prop Up a Lopsided Recovery

June profit growth at China's industrial firms eased to 15.1 percent as booming exports offset weak household demand and a deepening slump in autos.

27 Jul 2026 ·6 min read
The stone headquarters building of the Bank of Japan in Tokyo's Nihonbashi district, where the policy board meets this week. Photo: Wiiii / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0.
Economy

Yen at 40-Year Low Confronts Bank of Japan Before Friday Verdict

With the yen pinned near 163 per dollar, markets doubt Tokyo's intervention resolve and look to Friday's Bank of Japan meeting for a policy answer.

27 Jul 2026 ·5 min read
Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh answers reporters' questions at the lectern during the June 2026 FOMC press conference. Photo: Federal Reserve / Wikimedia Commons, Public domain.
Economy

Federal Reserve Confronts Oil Shock as Rate Decision Nears

Oil above $100 a barrel has pushed rate hike odds sharply higher days before Kevin Warsh chairs his second policy meeting at the Federal Reserve.

26 Jul 2026 ·5 min read
Official portrait of US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, who announced the tiered duties, in a dark suit beside an American flag. Photo: Office of the United States Trade Representative / Wikimedia Commons, Public domain.
Economy

New US Tariffs Hit 60 Trading Partners as Global Duty Expires

Washington replaced its expiring 10 percent global duty with tiered levies on 60 trading partners, tying market access to forced labor enforcement.

26 Jul 2026 ·6 min read
Container ship at the port of Shanghai, a gateway for Chinese exports. Photo: Niels Johannes, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Economy

China's Exports Climb 27% in June as Tariff Clock and AI Demand Distort the Trade Ledger

Chinese customs reported a 27 percent surge in June exports, a figure inflated by front-running of a looming US tariff deadline and voracious demand for AI hardware, even as import strength masked persistent weakness at home.

14 Jul 2026 ·6 min read
Marriner S. Eccles Federal Reserve Board building in Washington. Photo: Wikimedia Commons
Economy

Falling Pump Prices Hand the Fed a Softer Headline, Not a Reason to Ease

A double-digit slide in gasoline was expected to pull June headline inflation lower, but firm core prices and tariff pass-through kept the disinflation shallow, framing Kevin Warsh's first congressional testimony and a July policy meeting that leans hawkish.

14 Jul 2026 ·7 min read
SpaceX shares joining the Nasdaq-100 index on July 7, 2026. Photo: Glenn Beltz, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Economy

Index-Fund Savers Inherit SpaceX as Nasdaq-100 Opens Its Fastest Door Yet

SpaceX enters the Nasdaq-100 on July 7 under a new fast-track rule, only 15 trading days after its record IPO. The forced buying lands on millions of index-fund holders who never chose the stock.

6 Jul 2026 ·6 min read
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