Markets News
How to Read the CPI Report Like a Pricer, Not an Economist
The headline inflation number is national noise; the category detail and the core index are what your cost stack is actually built from.
Michael Hayes · April 9, 2026
Markets News
Short, dated items on price and demand: commodities, wholesale costs, shipping rates, currency moves, rent indices and official sales figures. Each entry states the number, the period and the direction of travel. Read by owners setting prices and by suppliers and lenders watching the same series.
Short, dated items on price and demand: commodities, wholesale costs, shipping rates, currency moves, rent indices and official sales figures. Each entry states the number, the period and the direction of travel. Read by owners setting prices and by suppliers and lenders watching the same series.
Markets News
What a Strong Dollar Does to Your Import Costs
The dollar's exchange rate is a price on every imported input — and for importers, hedging and contract currency are the levers that decide who feels it.
Michael Hayes · March 17, 2026
Markets News
Why Your Credit Card APR Moves When the Fed Does
Card rates are variable, tied to the prime rate by contract — which makes Fed decisions the one input you can watch in advance.
Michael Hayes · February 23, 2026
Markets News
The Yield Curve, Translated for Business Borrowers
The gap between two-year and ten-year Treasury yields is the market's forecast of the economy — and it prices your next fixed-rate loan.
Michael Hayes · January 31, 2026
Markets News
How a Fed Rate Decision Reaches Your Business Loan
The Fed moves one overnight rate; your borrowing cost is that rate plus a chain of markups — and the chain, not the Fed, is where most of your rate lives.
Michael Hayes · January 8, 2026