America added 29,000 jobs. That sounds big. It isn’t.
Employers are barely hiring. People who already have a job are mostly safe. People looking for one are not. This is the whole story, in ordinary words.
Policy
The Price of Borrowed Money
The Federal Reserve raised its main interest rate by a quarter of a point, to a range of 3.75 to 4 percent. It was the first increase in three years. The reason they gave was inflation.
Markets
A Hundred Dollars, Again
Brent crude went back above $100 a barrel. The war that started on February 28 had never really left the price.
World
A Pause, Not a Peace
The United States and Iran signed a memorandum that reopened the Strait of Hormuz. Oil did not go back to February. Neither did the argument over who controls the water.
Markets
The Gallon
A war that began on February 28 reached the oil market on a Monday. Brent crude, about $72 before the war, traded near $120.
The numbers that matter
Economy
More economy
The Embargo
In October 1973, Arab oil producers cut supply and stopped shipments to the United States. Within months the price of a barrel had roughly quadrupled, and Americans learned how much of their life ran on imported oil.
The Week the Prices Broke
In the last week of October 1929, the stock market lost a quarter of its value in two days. Most Americans owned no stock. Almost all of them paid for what came next.
Bacon’s Rebellion
In 1676, Virginia’s frontier and Virginia’s elite went to war with each other. Jamestown burned. The labor system that followed was not an accident.
The Nutrient Vampire
Tobacco did not just tire the soil. Worn-out fields became the reason to take the next tract, and then the one after that.
Markets
More markets
A Bank Run
In March 2023, Silicon Valley Bank lost $42 billion in deposits in a single day and failed. It was the fastest bank run in American history, and it was carried out on phones.
Lehman Monday
On September 15, 2008, Lehman Brothers filed the largest bankruptcy in American history. Within days, money market funds were breaking, AIG needed a rescue, and the global financial system nearly stopped.
Story Stocks
In the late 1990s, investors paid enormous prices for internet companies with little revenue and no profit. The Nasdaq peaked in March 2000 and then lost almost four-fifths of its value.
Black Monday
On October 19, 1987, the Dow fell 22.6 percent, still its worst day. The economy barely noticed. The difference between 1987 and 1929 was what happened the next morning.
Policy
More policy
The Court Took the Tariff Pen Away
By 6 to 3, the Supreme Court said a 1977 emergency law does not let a president tax imports. The Court did not say who gets the money back.
The Tax You Could Not See
The year opened with an import tax already in the price of ordinary goods. Most people never saw the line. They saw the total.
Zero
In December 2008, the Federal Reserve cut its policy rate to zero, and then began buying trillions of dollars of bonds. Borrowing became almost free for seven years. Saving earned almost nothing.
The Rescue Authority
In October 2008, Congress gave the Treasury $700 billion to stop the financial system from collapsing. The first vote failed and the market fell 778 points. The second passed, and the money went first to the banks.
America 250
All 250 articlesThe economic history of the United States in 250 articles, from the Jamestown stock offering in 1607 to the price of a loan in 2026. Who paid, who profited, and what happened next.
A Bank Run
In March 2023, Silicon Valley Bank lost $42 billion in deposits in a single day and failed. It was the fastest bank run in American history, and it was carried out on phones.
Zero
In December 2008, the Federal Reserve cut its policy rate to zero, and then began buying trillions of dollars of bonds. Borrowing became almost free for seven years. Saving earned almost nothing.
The Rescue Authority
In October 2008, Congress gave the Treasury $700 billion to stop the financial system from collapsing. The first vote failed and the market fell 778 points. The second passed, and the money went first to the banks.
Lehman Monday
On September 15, 2008, Lehman Brothers filed the largest bankruptcy in American history. Within days, money market funds were breaking, AIG needed a rescue, and the global financial system nearly stopped.