US Goods Deficit Widens to $132.6B in August

What is driving trade flows

Inbound shipments climbed 5.5% as the value of industrial supplies, including petroleum products, jumped 16.6%. Imports of capital goods also increased, including computers with accessories, semiconductors, and telecommunications equipment. The backdrop matters here: the Iran war has lifted global appetite for US petroleum products, companies have been padding inventories to guard against supply chain snags, and purchases of gear tied to the artificial intelligence buildout have taken off.

In uncertain times, steady habits matter, and our free Always Be Buying E-Book shows a simple system

Exports, inventories and GDP impact

Goods exports rose 1.9% in August, with industrial supplies contributing to the improvement. Retail inventories ticked up 0.3% while wholesalers added 0.7%. These data feed into the government's estimate of third quarter GDP. Before this report, the Atlanta Fed's GDPNow model had net exports shaving 1.37 percentage points from third quarter growth, after a 1.14 point drag in the second quarter. More detailed August numbers, including services trade and inflation adjusted merchandise figures, are due Oct. 6.

When headlines shift, keeping a long term plan helps; download the free Always Be Buying E-Book today

Blogs

September 29, 2026

Why Is Gold Going Down? A 5.2% Treasury Yield Just Took Its Job

By Andre Savage

President Trump rejected Iran's deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, oil prices jumped back up, and gold fell instead of rising.
Treasury yields hit their highest level in more than 20 years, so investors sold gold and bought Treasuries that pay interest.
Higher Treasury yields make the national debt, mortgages, car loans, and credit cards more expensive, with the Fed's next rate decision due October 28.

September 28, 2026

The Strategic Bitcoin Reserve: Why the Government Wants Bitcoin to Explode

By Jackson Moreland

The US government holds about 328,000 Bitcoin, worth roughly $25 billion, and since a 2025 executive order it keeps seized coins instead of selling them.
Washington wants a bigger pile of assets so its $40 trillion national debt looks smaller next to them, which lets it keep borrowing and spending.
Bitcoin's wild price swings, and a government holding a coin built to escape governments, are the two risks investors need to watch.

September 25, 2026

BRIEFS EXCLUSIVE: 43% Of Respondents Say Bills Outran Their Income Over Past Two Years

By Briefs Finance

43% of the 494 Market Briefs readers surveyed said their bills grew faster than their income over the past two years, even though 79% could cover a surprise $5,000 expense tomorrow.
Half of readers own gold or crypto, the two classic bets against a weaker dollar, and only 13% bought nothing at all in the last 12 months.
The median reader says it takes $150,000 a year to feel financially secure, about $62,000 above the U.S. median household income.

September 25, 2026

The Economy Is Booming. So Why Did Stocks and Bonds Fall Together?

By Milena Thomas

S&P Global says the US economy is growing at its fastest rate since 2021, with corporate profits up 28.9% in a year, almost four times the historical average.
Stocks and bonds fell at the same time, which is not how the two markets normally behave, because Treasury yields above 5% now compete with stocks for investors' money.
Jaspreet Singh lays out three ways to invest through a shift like this: always be buying, buy the crash, or follow the money before it hits the headlines.

September 24, 2026

The 2026 Economic Reset Is Starting: Are We in a Recession, or Is the Pain Still Ahead?

By Nate Gregory

The Federal Reserve has flipped from stimulating the economy to fighting inflation with higher interest rates, while the White House still wants growth at almost any cost.
The national debt tops $40 trillion, has outgrown the entire U.S. economy, and its interest payments are now the government's fastest-growing expense.
Higher rates bring pain for private equity, private credit, and speculative assets, but they open opportunities for investors holding cash, treasuries, and value assets.

September 23, 2026

Are We in a Recession? Without AI, America Might Already Be in One - and Washington Knows It

By Kalbir Talwar

The White House attributes about three quarters of U.S. economic growth to AI, and many believe the economy would already be in a recession without it.
Washington has three reasons it cannot let the AI boom slow down: staying the world's superpower, outgrowing $40 trillion in national debt, and protecting a government stock portfolio worth billions.
Every market goes through booms and busts, and investors who understand the cycle get to buy the downturn instead of panic-selling with the crowd.

September 22, 2026

Will Interest Rates Go Down in 2026? Where the Money Moves Either Way

By Kalbir Talwar

The Fed is leaning toward higher rates to fight 4% inflation, while the White House and a cracking job market push the other way.
If rates rise, money has tended to move toward short-term Treasuries, floating-rate loans, energy, banks and dividend payers.
If rates fall, it has tended to move toward gold, silver and Bitcoin, real estate, small caps, the S&P 500 and speculative bets.

September 21, 2026

How the Federal Reserve Makes Money - and Why It Just Posted Its Biggest Loss Ever

By Kalbir Talwar

For 109 years the Federal Reserve created money, lent it to the U.S. government and handed the interest it collected back to Washington - almost $1 trillion in the decade starting in 2011.
Pandemic-era lending locked the Fed into earning about 2% on trillions of dollars while it now pays banks around 4%, producing a record loss of hundreds of billions in 2026.
The Fed covers its losses by creating money and the government covers its lost revenue by borrowing, and both feed the inflation that eats at the dollars in your account.

September 18, 2026

Kevin Warsh Just Defied Trump: What the Fed Rate Hike Means for Your Money

By Cierra Seay

The Fed raised rates for the first time since 2023 in a unanimous vote led by Kevin Warsh, the chairman President Trump appointed to cut them.
Higher rates make the $40 trillion national debt, business loan resets and mortgages more expensive, but they strengthen the dollar and pay investors holding cash.
The war with Iran is pushing up oil, grocery and chip prices, another hike is likely in 2026, and recession talk is about to get louder.

September 17, 2026

Why America Bailed Out the Yen: The Japan Carry Trade, the Dollar and Your Mortgage Rate

By Milena Thomas

In July 2026 the US sent money to steady the yen because Japan is the largest foreign owner of US debt, and Washington needs Japan to keep lending.
For decades the Japan carry trade let Wall Street borrow yen at essentially 0% and pour it into US stocks, real estate and Treasuries, and rising Japanese rates are shutting that off.
A weaker yen means fewer buyers for the dollar and for US debt, which pushes Treasury rates up and drags mortgage, car loan and credit card rates up with them.

1 2 3 … 27 Next »

NEWS / Economy

US goods gap widens as imports surge in August

Summary:

What moved the numbers

What is driving trade flows

Exports, inventories and GDP impact

Trending Briefs

Pentagon enlists Musk, Luckey and Gingrich to chart future warfare in 120-day Project Meridian

Grindr to Acquire PurposeMed, Parent of HIV-Prevention Provider Freddie, for $250 Million

Crypto Funds Pull In $3.55 Billion Right After a Fed Hike

In 2025, 20% of working-age renters had trouble paying their rent

AI Agents Are Swiping the Company Card. The IRS Wants the Receipts.

Satoshi Nakamoto tops crypto rich list with $92 billion on-chain

Micron Beats Big on AI-Fueled Memory Boom

BMW leans on AI to cut 20% of management by the middle of next year in profit push

Fed signs off on stress test overhaul that tames volatility without shrinking overall capital

FedEx books 2,000 Harbinger e-trucks in $300M-plus order by 2027

Get Market Briefs every morning for free!

Recent News

Pentagon enlists Musk, Luckey and Gingrich to chart future warfare in 120-day Project Meridian

Grindr to Acquire PurposeMed, Parent of HIV-Prevention Provider Freddie, for $250 Million

Crypto Funds Pull In $3.55 Billion Right After a Fed Hike

In 2025, 20% of working-age renters had trouble paying their rent

AI Agents Are Swiping the Company Card. The IRS Wants the Receipts.

Satoshi Nakamoto tops crypto rich list with $92 billion on-chain

Micron Beats Big on AI-Fueled Memory Boom

BMW leans on AI to cut 20% of management by the middle of next year in profit push

Fed signs off on stress test overhaul that tames volatility without shrinking overall capital

FedEx books 2,000 Harbinger e-trucks in $300M-plus order by 2027

India locks in new fleetwide fuel-economy rules, starting 2027

BoE flags hedge fund leverage, AI exposure as rising cross-market risk

DoorDash brings an AI ordering agent to Apple Messages, plus new enterprise tools and drone tests

Long-Term Treasury Yields Hit Multi-Decade Highs as US Spending Stays Strong

Chile copper production hits over-15-year low in August

U.S. consumer spending pops in August as core inflation eases

Amgen's GIP Blocker Might End Up Doing What Lilly's GIP Activator Does

CFA Level II Pass Rate Hits 45%, Back at Decade Norm

Emerging Markets Push Into Swiss-Franc Bond Market

Slovakia Approves €189 Million to Buy CEZ Stake in Nuclear Project

White House Sends $500 Refunds to Nearly 1 Million Obamacare Enrollees

Fed Watchdog Flags Oversight Lapses in HQ Renovation, Says No Basis for Criminal Referral

FTC opens investigation into OpenAI, Anthropic and others over AI safety risks

Hormuz Exports Near Prewar Levels After U.S. Escorts and Pipeline Reroutes

Commerce chief Howard Lutnick logs nine-figure haul in first year in office

Gabon lines up new $580 million dollar deal after recent $920 million eurobond

General Mills taps Dana McNabb as next CEO, with Jeff Harmening moving to executive chair

HPE Lifts Networking Forecast After $1.2 Billion Vultr Order

Xi touts China's resilience, pushes to hit year-end goals after Trump summit

US mortgage rates climb for sixth straight week, nearing three-year peak

Sentinel Real Estate acquires Hearthstone to step into UK rentals

Consumers Are Picking Price Over Speed for Home Internet

Galvanize Says California Is Ideal for Energy-Focused Industrial Bets

Norway's Wealth Fund Was Exposed to Turkish Stocks Now Under Manipulation Probe

KKR's Vincent Policard says Europe must double infrastructure spending to $700-$800 billion a year

Bank of England flags AI as a flashpoint for a wider market shock

Greek premier presses EU for fiscal wiggle room as energy costs bite

AMD Agrees To Buy World Labs For $8.2 Billion

Chicago signs off on $2.5 billion handoff of parking-meter lease to Stonepeak

Hypertec's 5C Eyes IPO as AI Data Center Pipeline Swells

Peter Navarro tells Canadian lobbyists to leave the U.S. at Washington conference

Lundbeck is weighing a bid for Xeris Biopharma, per people familiar

BOE's Alan Taylor: No Rush to Hike Rates, Even With Energy Shock

TXSE Parent Pulls In $155 Million To Step Up Its Listings Challenge

Airbnb adds baby gear delivery, laundry tie-up and AI search upgrades

Samsung rolls out Galaxy Tab S12 lineup and a smaller, lighter SmartTag 3

German inflation jumps to 3.3% in September, turning up the heat on the ECB

India finalizes CAFE-III rules, tightening auto emissions through 2032

India's Weakest Monsoon Since 2015 Puts Crops and Food Prices on Edge

Argentina Stocks Split Between Energy Winners and Broader Weakness

Iraq dangles steep October oil discounts, up to $37 under benchmarks

Startups and Food Giants Race to Replace Whey as Protein Shortages Bite

Singapore logs first AI-linked data breach after batch email exposed customer addresses

Deutsche Bank eyes new SRT tied to fund financing as it broadens hedges

Denmark Likely To Delay Frigate Supplier Choice After Snap Election

Indian Hospital Stocks Drop After Supreme Court Questions Drug Markups

Inflation cools a touch in August, and markets lean toward a December Fed move

Lenders Hit Pause on White Cap's $4.13 Billion Loan Reset

Holiday retail sales seen clearing $1 trillion as shoppers hunt value

Treasury yields seesaw after cooler inflation as traders pivot to Friday's jobs print

Mars pulls Pop-Tarts x BuzzBallz after worries it could entice underage drinkers