Good news for workers, red screen for traders. What gives?

Saturday · September 5, 2026 · № 24 · with Ray Above the FoldThe jobs report came in hot, and stocks fell on it So much for the cooling scare. The government said Friday that the economy added 162,000 jobs in August, more than triple the 53,000 forecasters expected, and the strongest

One Fed sentence sent the Dow up 624 points. Here's what actually changed.

Friday · September 4, 2026 · № 23 · with Ray Above the FoldThe rate-hike scare eased, and markets exhaled After a rough few days, Thursday brought relief. Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller said he would be “inclined to support” holding rates steady, barring a surprise in the inflation data, and that one

There's a soft number in this week's jobs data the Fed can't ignore.

Thursday · September 3, 2026 · № 22 · with Ray Above the FoldHiring is cooling, right before the Fed's call A day before the government's big jobs report, a preview landed, and it was soft. Private employers added just 38,000 jobs in August, according to the ADP count

Gold just reversed. Here's what pulled the shine off.

Wednesday · September 2, 2026 · № 21 · with Ray Above the FoldGold's record run just went into reverse The hottest trade of the summer cooled hard on Tuesday. Gold settled at $4,325 an ounce, down 2.86 percent, a multi-week low, after flirting with a record near $4,

There's a tax line on your Social Security that hasn't moved since 1984.

Tuesday · September 1, 2026 · № 20 · with Ray Above the FoldThe rate that runs your loans is climbing again The first trading day of September, and the story was not in the stock indexes, which barely moved. It was in the bond market. The 10-year Treasury yield rose to 4.

Friday's jobs number could decide the Fed's next move. Here's the stake.

Monday · August 31, 2026 · № 19 · with Ray Above the FoldThe week builds to a jobs report the Fed cannot ignore Monday, and the week ahead has one date circled: Friday, when the government reports how many jobs the country added in August. It always matters, but this time it lands

The Fed's new chair speaks this morning. Everyone is listening.

Friday · August 28, 2026 · № 18 · with Ray Above the FoldThe Fed's new chair speaks this morning, and Wall Street is all ears This morning, in a valley under the Grand Tetons, the Federal Reserve's new chair, Kevin Warsh, gives his first big speech since taking the

This is the week we learn if the American shopper is finally tired.

Monday · August 17, 2026 · № 17 · with Ray Above the FoldThe week ahead hangs on the American shopper Monday, and the calendar says this is the week we find out how the American shopper is really holding up. It matters because spending by regular people is close to two-thirds of

Prices cooled to 3.4%. Why your paycheck still lost the race.

Thursday · August 13, 2026 · № 16 · with Ray Above the FoldInflation came in right on the mark, and markets exhaled The number the whole market had been bracing for landed Wednesday, and it landed quietly. July inflation ran at 3.4 percent over the past year, a shade below June'

Small-business optimism hit an 11-month high. Why it matters to you.

Wednesday · August 12, 2026 · № 15 · with Ray Above the FoldMain Street just got its confidence back While Wall Street spent Tuesday inching back from record highs, a quieter and more hopeful number came out of Main Street. The National Federation of Independent Business said its small-business optimism index rose

The 21% rate draining more households than any market move.

Tuesday · August 11, 2026 · № 14 · with Ray Above the FoldThe bill for the AI boom just got a lot bigger Monday made the price of the artificial-intelligence race hard to look away from. Intel said it will sell about $15 billion in new stock to fund its long climb

Employers cut 23,000 jobs in July. What it means for your mortgage.

Sunday · August 9, 2026 · № 13 · with Ray Above the FoldThe jobs report that put a rate cut back on the table For months the worry ran one direction: rates too high, and a Fed so nervous about inflation that three of its own officials wanted to raise them again. On