The Big Picture: The Best of Times, the Worst of Times

Charles Dickens was not an economist, but he would have made a good one in 2026. The stock market keeps setting records, while Americans feel worse about the economy than at the start of every recession since 1978. Both things are true at once, and the gap between them is the story of this update.

Since May, a few things have changed in a big way: the Federal Reserve raised interest rates instead of holding steady, company profits have grown far faster than expected (thanks mostly to AI and oil companies), and the war with Iran has dragged on longer than hoped. Here is the scorecard.

READ THE FULL ARTICLE