Someone at the Federal Reserve is probably smiling right now. Six years ago, the Fed set a “target” rate for inflation, a Goldilocks level of 2 percent. Not too high, as in out-of-control prices and not too low, signaling a weak economy. Today, inflation has finally inched up to that target. So, what does that mean for […]

New numbers out Thursday show that Americans spent a lot of their paychecks on retail last month. U.S. retail sales were strong in May, rising about eight-tenths of a percent from a month earlier.  That may sound small, but it’s the biggest one-month jump since last November. Among the merchants that got a lot of […]

Consumer spending and sentiment have not suffered much from recent market turmoil.

Drivers are saving at the pump, but they're not spending more elsewhere.

The University of Michigan report is the first to reflect recent market volatility.