Neil Irwin

The world is wealthier than ever before. But it is built on ever-more stretched valuations of paper assets, rather than real output.

The Federal Reserve typically telegraphs its interest rate moves in advance, then follows through.

Companies are achieving high productivity output because they're better using existing capital, not making major use of AI, writes Stripe's chief economist.

Illustration: Brendan Lynch/Axios Central bankers, as a rule, try to maintain stable prices, a strong job market and a sound financial system.

The Federal Reserve left its interest rate target unchanged Wednesday amid significant internal dissent from officials who preferred to raise rates.

In his press conference Wednesday, Federal Reserve chairman Kevin Warsh started by asserting that the central bank will not waver in its pursuit of 2% inflation.

Concluding a busy week in central bank land, the Bank of Japan elected to leave interest rates unchanged overnight Thursday.

The U.S. participation may have been an effort to enable the Japanese to smooth gyrations in their currency without creating more market pressure for Treasury bonds.

Fears of mass job loss as a result of AI or other developments simply haven't come true midway through 2026.

Driving the news: The average rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rose to 6.81% last week, the Mortgage Bankers Association said Wednesday morning , the highest in a year. Mortgage applications fell 2.9%.