As war in Iran erodes nitrogen fertilizer market, American farmers pay the price
Fertilizer plays a critical role in modern agriculture, so critical that U.S. farmers are expected to spend $260 more per planted acre on fertilizer than on seeds. As American farmers prep their fields for the spring growing season, their minds are not on the soil in...
Home buyers’ market may be emerging, but inflation keeps homes out of reach
Home price growth slowed to the weakest pace in years in January, while inflation outpaced gains for the eighth consecutive month. The S&P Coality Case-Shiller Index showed a 0.9% annual gain for January, the first time it’s fallen below 1% since 2023....
Five indicators to watch in the March inflation report
Although inflation appeared to slow slightly at the beginning of 2026, the volatile war in Iran—and the accompanying shock to global oil prices over the last five weeks—raises the question of whether the March consumer price index will be upended by the conflict. At a...
Five things to watch for in tomorrow’s personal income report
Personal income likely rose again in February, but did little to strengthen purchasing power after inflation, according to economist estimates ahead of Thursday’s Personal Income and Outlays report from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. This release will show...
Manufacturing Activity Continues Ascent as War Anxieties Tamper Confidence
In the first look at US manufacturing since the beginning of the US-Israel war on Iran, manufacturing activity ticked upward again in March to its strongest level in nearly four years, but concern over inflationary pressure and geopolitical risks to supply chains war present a major caveat looking ahead.
U.S. cities struggle to build housing in dense areas, co-locating libraries may be the solution
For decades, the American public library has been the ultimate "third space," a sanctuary for a quiet read, a free internet connection, or a cooling center during a heatwave. However, as the nation’s housing shortage reaches a significant high, urban planners are...
Banning “Wall Street Landlords” Won’t Fix What’s Broken in Atlanta’s Rental Housing Market
On the streets of Atlanta, corporate landlords have turned modest single-family rental houses into revenue streams. Families looking to buy find themselves competing against commercial behemoths, who snap up properties with all-cash offers and keep home ownership just...
Trade War Leaves U.S. Almond Growers With Lower Prices and Fewer Profits
Christine Gemperle always knew almond farming came with risks. There are a lot of overhead costs. Land, water, and labor are not easy to come by in California, nor are they cheap. Trees can take several years to reach full production and can’t be scaled back when...
Can tariffs bring back an industry decimated by the 2000s ‘China shock’?
Some high-end wood furniture manufacturers have reportedly benefited from tariffs. It is unclear if those benefits outweigh the costs — and whether it’s even enough to bring jobs back to the US. Gat Caperton remembers a time when most of the wood furniture that was...