Economics Desk

Economics

Indicators translated back into rent, wages, spending, and shelter.

Economics desk artwork
Apartment building construction site in Vuosaari, Helsinki

Economics • Report

Shelter Is Still the Inflation Story People Live Inside.

Mortgage rates are lower than their worst recent highs but still high enough to ration buying. Rents are cooling more slowly than households feel, and the nation’s housing squeeze remains the most intimate version of inflation.

By Owen Barrett • April 7, 2026 • 9:05 a.m. EDT

Shoppers inside a supermarket in Arusha

Economics • Analysis

The Consumer Has Not Quit. The Economy Still Feels Cautious.

The American economy is still growing, but it is doing so with less exuberance, less labor-market churn, and more dependence on household spending than the public rhetoric admits.

By Owen Barrett • April 6, 2026 • 11:05 a.m. EDT