Economy
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Tariffs paid by midsized US firms tripled last year, new analysis from JPMorganChase Institute shows
Feb 19, 2026 7:20 am - Tariffs paid by midsized U.S. businesses tripled over the course of last year, new research tied to one of America’s leading banks showed on Thursday — more evidence that President Donald Trump's push to charge higher taxes on imports is causing economic disruption.
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Illinois should opt into the Federal Scholarship Tax CreditFeb 14, 2026 9:38 am - Every year, hundreds of businesses and individuals make donations to local educational foundations, offering up their services for silent auctions or raffles, all in the name of bolstering public school funding.
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US employers add surprising 130,000 jobs last month, but revisions cut thousands of 2024-2025 jobs
Feb 11, 2026 7:46 am - U.S. employers added a surprisingly strong 130,000 jobs last month, but government revisions cut 2024-2025 U.S. payrolls by hundreds of thousands. The unemployment rate fell to 4.3%, the Labor Department said Wednesday.
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Retail sales unchanged in December from November, closing year on a lackluster tone
Feb 10, 2026 8:13 am - Shoppers pulled back the pace of their spending in December from November, closing out the holiday shopping season and the year on a lackluster tone. The report, issued by the Commerce Department on Tuesday, surprised economists who were looking for growth despite mounting concerns about slowing job growth, uncertainty about President Donald Trump's tariffs and other economic headwinds.
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Next US jobs report will define just how much labor market is slowing down
Feb 09, 2026 12:56 pm - A denser-than-usual jobs report is expected to show just how much the U.S. labor market has slowed in recent years - or perhaps that it wasn’t growing at all.
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Trump says tariffs have created an economic miracle. The facts tell a different story
Feb 06, 2026 7:43 am - Looking back on the first year of his second term, President Donald Trump boasts that he has resurrected the American economy by imposing big import taxes on foreign products.
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Why nobody really knows the scale of the U.S. housing crisis
Feb 04, 2026 10:28 am - America faces a serious housing shortage, one that Moody’s estimates would take more than 2 million new homes to resolve.
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Renters use ‘rent now, pay later’ services to manage monthly payments, but fees raise concerns
Feb 04, 2026 8:03 am - Rent can eat up an entire paycheck at the start of the month, so a growing number of renters are turning to a financial product that promises relief by letting them split the bill — for a price.
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Seeking shelter from Trump’s fury, US trade partners reach deals with each other
Feb 03, 2026 8:19 am - Bullied and buffeted by President Donald Trump’s tariffs for the past year, America’s longstanding allies are desperately seeking ways to shield themselves from the president’s impulsive wrath.
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Some companies tie AI to layoffs, but the reality is more complicated
Feb 02, 2026 2:30 pm - Many assumed Amazon’s 16,000 corporate layoffs announced last week reflected CEO Andy Jassy’s push to reduce the corporate workforce and “get efficiency gains from using AI extensively across the company.” But like other companies that have tied workforce changes to AI — including Expedia, Pinterest and Dow last week — it can be hard for economists to know if AI is the real reason behind the layoffs or if it's the message a company wants to tell Wall Street.