Pressed by Supreme Court decisions diminishing rights that liberals hold dear and expanding those cherished by conservatives, the United States appears to be drifting apart into separate nations, with diametrically opposed social, environmental and health policies. Call these the Disunited States. The most immediate breaking point is on abortion, as about half the country will soon limit or ban the procedure while the other half expands or reinforces access to reproductive rights. But the ideol ...read more

Washington, DC CNN  —  The Federal Reserve raised interest rates by three-quarters of a percentage point on Wednesday in an aggressive move to tackle white-hot inflation that is plaguing the economy, frustrating consumers and stifling the Biden administration. It’s the largest rate hike since 1994, and will affect millions of American businesses and households, pushing up the cost of borrowing for homes, cars and other loans in order to force a slowdown in the economy. Until this ...read more

Wall Street tumbled in a broad sell-off on Tuesday as dire consumer confidence data dampened investor optimism and fueled worries that the Federal Reserve’s aggressive battle against inflation could tip the economy into recession. The SP 500 and the Nasdaq fell about 2% and 3%, respectively, with Apple Inc, Microsoft Corp and Amazon.com weighing the heaviest. The blue-chip Dow shed about 1.6%. But in Canada, the TSX closed with only slim losses thanks to a rally in the energy sector. The heavy ...read more

Augusta cannot guarantee, and makes no representation, that any metals purchased by a customer will appreciate at all or appreciate sufficiently to make a profit, and there is no certainty that any metals can be sold for a profit. The future value of the coins you purchase cannot be predicted. You could lose money. Don't purchase Augusta products with money you can't afford to lose. Prices may rise and fall over time or rapidly. Past performance of any coin does not guarantee future results. Pr ...read more

Gold futures ended lower on Monday as the Group of Seven nations prepared to ban imports of the yellow metal from Russia. U.S. President Joe Biden tweeted on Sunday that the G-7 would “ban the import of Russian gold” and the U.K. government has informed the press that the U.S., U.K., Japan and Canada had agreed to the ban — although the resolution has yet to be formally adopted by the supranational institution. Members of the G-7 were meeting Monday in the southern German town of Garmisc ...read more

GDPNow data from the Atlanta Fed, chart by Mish Please note another GDPNow Model plunge following a miserable ISM number.  The GDPNow model estimate for real GDP growth (seasonally adjusted annual rate) in the second quarter of 2022 is -2.1 percent on July 1, down from -1.0 percent on June 30. After this morning's Manufacturing ISM Report On Business from the Institute for Supply Management and the construction report from the US Census Bureau, the nowcasts of second-qua ...read more