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COST OF LIVING

Crude oil dropped 8 percent Wednesday — diesel at the pump didn't move

Nov 6, 2026

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1 min read

Crude oil dropped 8 percent Wednesday — diesel at the pump didn't move

Wall Street priced in cheaper energy while the weekly EIA survey stayed right where it was.

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PEOPLE & SOCIETY

Three years ago, border agents hit this number every three weeks

Nov 5, 2026

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1 min read

Three years ago, border agents hit this number every three weeks

This year, reaching that same count took all twelve months — October straight through September.

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MONEY & MARKETS

The worst year in this streak included Black Monday — and still finished positive

Nov 4, 2026

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1 min read

The worst year in this streak included Black Monday — and still finished positive

Up 1.1% after the 1986 midterm. That is the floor. Every other year did better.

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GOVERNMENT & POWER

All those texts, mailers, and ads cutting into your football — here's the tab

Nov 3, 2026

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2 min read

All those texts, mailers, and ads cutting into your football — here's the tab

Not a presidential race. A midterm. The kind people usually ignore.

One Number

COST OF LIVING

Health insurance is rising at three times the speed of your paycheck

Nov 2, 2026

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1 min read

Health insurance is rising at three times the speed of your paycheck

Your wages grew 3.0% last year, per the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Do the math.

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MONEY & MARKETS

For every dollar your savings earns, inflation takes ten

Oct 30, 2026

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1 min read

For every dollar your savings earns, inflation takes ten

That's the actual arithmetic of keeping money in an average savings account right now.

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THE ECONOMY & MAIN STREET

The trade deficit is wider now than before the tariffs existed

Oct 29, 2026

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1 min read

The trade deficit is wider now than before the tariffs existed

The last time it was this wide was March 2025 — one month before Liberation Day tariffs were supposed to fix it.

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GOVERNMENT & POWER

It tripled in under twenty years and the CBO sees no floor

Oct 28, 2026

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1 min read

It tripled in under twenty years and the CBO sees no floor

The 50-year average for this ratio is 51%. We are now sitting at exactly twice that.

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PEOPLE & SOCIETY

117 years of CDC records, two world wars, a Depression, a pandemic — never this low

Oct 27, 2026

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2 min read

117 years of CDC records, two world wars, a Depression, a pandemic — never this low

The rate has fallen in all but two of the past eighteen years, and in each of the last four.

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MONEY & MARKETS

Only one reading in 74 years has ever come in lower

Oct 26, 2026

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1 min read

Only one reading in 74 years has ever come in lower

The University of Michigan has been asking this question since 1952. This month's answer ranks near the very bottom.

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THE ECONOMY & MAIN STREET

You'd have to go back to April 2012 to find a worse reading

Oct 23, 2026

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2 min read

You'd have to go back to April 2012 to find a worse reading

Back then the market was still digging out from 2008. This time there's no obvious excuse.

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MONEY & MARKETS

The income group that feels the least financial pressure earns $100K to $200K

Oct 22, 2026

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1 min read

The income group that feels the least financial pressure earns $100K to $200K

You can outrun your tax bracket. You apparently cannot outrun your expenses.

One Number

COST OF LIVING

One in four new-car buyers is now signing a 7-year loan

Oct 21, 2026

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1 min read

One in four new-car buyers is now signing a 7-year loan

A decade ago, that would have gotten you laughed out of the dealership. Today it's one in four buyers.

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MONEY & MARKETS

The dot-com bubble was less concentrated than your index fund is right now

Oct 20, 2026

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1 min read

The dot-com bubble was less concentrated than your index fund is right now

Two of those ten names control more of your retirement than the bottom 200 stocks combined.

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GOVERNMENT & POWER

The federal government paid $1.05 trillion last year and got nothing for it

Oct 19, 2026

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1 min read

The federal government paid $1.05 trillion last year and got nothing for it

That number isn't principal, and it isn't spending. It's the carrying cost on money Washington already burned.

One Number

COST OF LIVING

You probably blamed prices. The rate did most of the damage.

Oct 16, 2026

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2 min read

You probably blamed prices. The rate did most of the damage.

When the rate nearly triples, the math turns against you faster than the price tag ever could.

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THE ECONOMY & MAIN STREET

America never spent this much on foreign oil, even when crude hit $140 a barrel

Oct 15, 2026

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1 min read

America never spent this much on foreign oil, even when crude hit $140 a barrel

Chips crossed that threshold in six years. Oil took five decades to build the same kind of hold.

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MONEY & MARKETS

The last time your dollar wasn't losing to prices: February 2021

Oct 14, 2026

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1 min read

The last time your dollar wasn't losing to prices: February 2021

The Fed just raised rates to 4% last month and CPI is still running nearly double the target.

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PEOPLE & SOCIETY

96 years of FBI murder records — and not one year looks like 2026

Oct 13, 2026

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1 min read

96 years of FBI murder records — and not one year looks like 2026

From the highest murder rate in a generation to the lowest ever recorded — in the same decade.

One Number

COST OF LIVING

In every October AAA has ever tracked, gas stayed under four dollars a gallon

Oct 12, 2026

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1 min read

In every October AAA has ever tracked, gas stayed under four dollars a gallon

Until this one. The seasonal dip came. It just wasn't enough.

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MONEY & MARKETS

The last time Treasuries beat the S&P like this was 2002

Oct 9, 2026

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2 min read

The last time Treasuries beat the S&P like this was 2002

Outside a brief window in late 2023, this spread had been closed since before the first iPhone existed.

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GOVERNMENT & POWER

What freezing Russia's reserves in 2022 quietly did to the U.S. debt market

Oct 8, 2026

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1 min read

What freezing Russia's reserves in 2022 quietly did to the U.S. debt market

Every central bank watching got the message: U.S. debt is a political weapon. China has been selling steadily ever since.

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MONEY & MARKETS

Gold Is Down $1,450 an Ounce From Its January Peak

Oct 7, 2026

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1 min read

Gold Is Down $1,450 an Ounce From Its January Peak

It hit an all-time high of $5,589 in January. By October 5 it was at $4,139. That's 26% off the top.

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GOVERNMENT & POWER

July Estimate: $37.5B. September Reality: $43.6B.

Oct 6, 2026

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1 min read

July Estimate: $37.5B. September Reality: $43.6B.

And that's before $1.5 billion in extra fuel — the Pentagon's full tally is now $45.1 billion.

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THE ECONOMY & MAIN STREET

29,000 Jobs. Wall Street Expected 84,000.

Oct 5, 2026

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2 min read

29,000 Jobs. Wall Street Expected 84,000.

We didn't get half the forecast. We got a third. Then the July revision darkened the picture further.

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