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The most recent U.S. labor report shows the unemployment rate at 4.4%, reflecting a slight increase from the previous month and signaling a modest softening in the labor market. Recent data indicate the economy lost roughly 92,000 jobs in February 2026, a surprising reversal from earlier expectations of job growth.

What Happened On February 28, 2026, the United States and Israel launched coordinated military strikes against Iran. The operation followed months of escalating tensions, including Iran’s violent crackdown on domestic protesters and failed nuclear negotiations. Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei was confirmed killed in the strikes. Iran retaliated with missile

The U.S. economy in 2025 demonstrated resilience in the face of policy shifts, trade disruptions, and a prolonged government shutdown. While growth varied across quarters, the overall expansion of about 2.2% for the year remained above the long term historical average. Steady consumer spending and meaningful investment in technology and

Truflation’s U.S. CPI-like index is designed as a daily-updated inflation measure built from a basket of consumer-spending categories broadly inspired by CPI structure, but implemented with alternative/high-frequency data feeds and a distinct housing treatment. Truflation documents a 7-step process (household expenditure weights → data sources → ingestion → transformations → indexing → weighting/roll-up → publication) and publishes

Homebuilder confidence is measured by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) Housing Market Index (HMI), a monthly survey of roughly 900 single-family builders that began in 1985. The index is diffusion-based, with readings above 50 indicating that more builders view conditions as good than poor. It is composed of

Please find the next blog in our monthly series that provides a snapshot of the markets and the state of the economy. Economic Overview Market Returns Asset Class Valuations – Rebalancing Rationale Key Risk Factors We Are Watching Disclaimers: The views expressed herein are those of Asset Consulting Group (ACG).

The nonfarm payroll (NFP) report, released monthly by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, is one of the most closely watched indicators of U.S. economic health. It measures the number of jobs added or lost across the economy, excluding farm workers, private household employees, and nonprofit workers. Since its inception in

Many investors look at the S&P 500 and assume that if the index is rising, most stocks must be doing well. In reality, that is often not the case. There have been periods in recent years when a small handful of mega cap technology companies accounted for the majority of

S&P 500 earnings season is shaping up better than expected, with results so far pointing to solid underlying momentum. As of early February 2026, roughly 64% of index constituents have reported fourth-quarter results. With more than half the season complete, blended year-over-year EPS growth is tracking around 13–13.5%, a meaningful