What Happened Mortgage demand weakened again last week, even as rates edged slightly lower. Total application volume fell 0.8% from the prior week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. The average contract rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage with conforming
What Happened Ford opened 2026 with a weak first quarter, reporting 457,315 U.S. vehicle sales, down 8.8% from a year earlier. That followed a soft quarter from GM, which reported 626,429 U.S. deliveries, down 9.7%. Both companies said the comparison
Markets Try to Bounce — but Oil Is Still Calling the Shots U.S. stocks turned sharply higher Thursday morning before giving back much of the move, as investors reacted to a new signal out of Iran that briefly raised hopes
U.S. manufacturing activity improved in March, but the details pointed to a more complicated picture for factories and inflation. The Institute for Supply Management said its manufacturing PMI edged up to 52.7 from 52.4 in February. That marked the third straight month above 50, the line
What The February JOLTS Report Showed U.S. job openings fell more than expected in February, and hiring cooled sharply, pointing to a labor market that is losing momentum rather than re-accelerating. The update came from the Job Openings and Labor Turnover
Governments Move to Contain the Energy Shock Energy prices surged after Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz in response to U.S.-Israeli attacks, forcing G7 and EU governments into emergency coordination mode. The immediate policy challenge is familiar: when fuel spikes,
What Happened Talks between Unilever (UL) and McCormick (MKC) are moving quickly around a potential combination that would pair Unilever’s food business with the U.S. spice maker. Unilever has said it is in discussions after receiving an offer for its food division, and McCormick has confirmed
What Happened Citigroup (C) leaders have been weighing the idea of buying a major U.S. regional bank, as the firm works to complete a multi-year effort to streamline its operations. The discussions have been characterized as preliminary and have taken place over
What Happened NextEra Energy (NEE) said the U.S. President approved the development of up to 10 gigawatts of natural gas-fired power generation in Texas and Pennsylvania. The approval was presented as part of a broader U.S.-Japan trade agreement framework. NextEra said it will build and operate the projects, which are expected to be jointly
What Happened: Hormuz Becomes the New Chokepoint A fresh global energy shock is forcing governments back into energy-security mode after Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz, a key shipping lane for Middle East oil and gas. The closure followed U.S. and
What Happened Mortgage demand weakened again last week, even as rates edged slightly lower. Total
What Happened Ford opened 2026 with a weak first quarter, reporting 457,315 U.S. vehicle sales,
Markets Try to Bounce — but Oil Is Still Calling the Shots U.S. stocks turned
U.S. manufacturing activity improved in March, but the details pointed to a more complicated picture
What The February JOLTS Report Showed U.S. job openings fell more than expected in February,
Governments Move to Contain the Energy Shock Energy prices surged after Iran closed the Strait
What Happened Talks between Unilever (UL) and McCormick (MKC) are moving quickly around a potential combination that would pair
What Happened Citigroup (C) leaders have been weighing the idea of buying a major U.S. regional bank,
What Happened NextEra Energy (NEE) said the U.S. President approved the development of up to 10 gigawatts of natural gas-fired power generation
What Happened: Hormuz Becomes the New Chokepoint A fresh global energy shock is forcing governments
