Financial Times (May 7)
“US fuel exports have surged to a record level as Europe and Asia lean on American energy supplies to make up for the shortfalls caused by the war in Iran.” Last week, America exported over “8.2mn barrels a day of refined fuels including gasoline, diesel and jet fuel,” a year-on-year increase exceeding 20%. Last week’s “huge demand for US energy” also transformed America into “a net exporter of crude oil for the first time since the second world war.” While this provides “a windfall” to US energy companies, “it also risks a political backlash for President Donald Trump as domestic pump prices rise.”
Tags: 20%, 8.2mn bbl, Asia, Backlash, Crude oil, Demand, Diesel, Energy, Europe, Exports, Fuel, Gasoline, Iran, Jet fuel, Record, Shortfalls, Surged, Trump, U.S., War, Windfall
Los Angeles Times (May 4)
“Inflation surged to 3.5% in March — the highest level in nearly three years — as gas prices climbed above $4.40 due to Middle East tensions, yet consumers barely flinched. The U.S. economy expanded at a 2% annual rate in the first quarter while unemployment claims hit a 50-year low, signaling unexpected resilience despite inflation pressures.”
Tags: Consumers, Economy, Expanded, Gas prices, Inflation, March, Middle East, Q1, Surged, Tensions, U.S., Unemployment claims, Unexpected
CNBC (November 7)
“Worries over the government shutdown surged in the early part of November, pushing consumer sentiment to its lowest in more than three years and just off its worst level ever.” The most recent University of Michigan “Index of Consumer Sentiment posted a reading of 50.3 for the month, indicating a decline of 6.2% on the month and about 30% from a year ago…. November’s reading was the second lowest going back to at least 1978.”
Tags: 1978, 50.3, Consumer sentiment, Decline, Government shutdown, Lowest, November, Surged, University of Michigan, Worries, Worst level
Detroit Free Press (May 17)
“As car buyers rush to get in front of tariffs — which are widely expected to boost sticker prices — the flood of demand has been pushing new vehicle prices ever higher, with the trend unlikely to stop any time soon.” The average new vehicle sales price “in April surged 2.5% to $48,699 compared with March. Prices rose 1.1% compared with April 2024,” making it “the strongest April sales since 2021.”
Tags: $48, 2.5%, 2021, 699 Rose, April, Boost, Car buyers, Demand, Flood, Higher, New vehicle, Prices, Rush, Sticker prices, Strongest April, Surged, Tariffs
Barron’s (May 12)
“The Nasdaq Composite entered a new bull market on Monday as the stock market surged after the U.S. and China agreed to ease back tariffs for 90 days. The tech-heavy index rallied 4.4%, closing more than 20% above its April 8 low to exit the bear market that began on April 4.” That wasn’t the only good news. “The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1,161 points, or 2.8%, closing more than 10% above its April 8 low to exit a technical correction. The S&P 500 rallied 3.3%.”
Tags: Bear market, Bull market, China, Dow Jones, Ease, Nasdaq, Rallied, S&P 500, Stocks, Surged, Tariffs, Tech-heavy, Technical correction, U.S.
Washington Post (October 10)
“By just about every measure, the U.S. economy is in good shape. Growth is strong. Unemployment is low. Inflation is back down. More important, many Americans are getting sizable pay raises, and middle-class wealth has surged to record levels.” And yet the lingering effects of inflation seem to have blinded many to the fact that “we are living through one of the best economic years of many people’s lifetimes.”
Tags: Best, Economy, Growth, Inflation, Lingering, Middle class, Pay raises, Record levels, Strong, Surged, U.S., Unemployment, Wealth
Financial Times (March 27)
“The price of cocoa surged past $10,000 a tonne for the first time on Tuesday, as a dizzying rise in prices caused by poor harvests in Africa accelerates. Cocoa futures traded as high as $10,080 in New York, more than double their price only two months ago, as traders warned a global shortage of cocoa beans would herald higher price tags for chocolate bars.”
Tags: Africa, Chocolate bars, Cocoa, Dizzying, Double, Futures, Higher, New York, Poor harvests, Price, Shortage, Surged, Traders
Wall Street Journal (October 16)
“Stocks slumped most of last week. Then they unexpectedly surged Thursday, only to tumble again Friday.” The wild swings may be driven by “a classic bear-market rally: a case of beaten-down markets temporarily bouncing higher, only to resume selling off.”
Tags: Bear-market rally, Bouncing higher, Markets, Selling off, Slumped, Stocks, Surged, Tumble, Unexpectedly, Wild swings
Market Insider (September 30)
“Japan and Korea have dumped billions of dollars into the foreign exchange market to prop up” their currencies. Nevertheless, “the dollar has surged 26% against the yen and has risen 21% versus the won.” The yen and won are hardly unique. “Both developed and emerging market economies, have slumped against the dollar,” but both currencies “have also been hurt by trade deficit concerns” as their “economies are importers of oil.”
Tags: Currencies, Developed, Dollars, Economies, Emerging, Forex, Importers, Japan, Korea, Market, Oil, Prop up, Slumped, Surged, Trade deficit, Won, Yen
CNN (September 29)
“Mortgage rates surged for the sixth week in a row, moving closer to 7%. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.70% in the week ending September 29, up from 6.29% the week before…. That’s the highest level since July 2007.” Amid soaring inflation and aggressive moves by the Fed, “mortgage rates have more than doubled since the start of this year.”
Tags: 30-year, 7%, Aggressive, Doubled, Fed, Fixed-rate, Highest, Inflation, Mortgage, Rates, Surged
