Wall Street closed lower on Tuesday after evidence of a cooling economy exacerbated worries that the Federal Reserve’s campaign to rein in decades-high inflation may cause a deep downturn. All three major indexes fell as data showed U.S. job openings in February dropped to the lowest level in nearly two years, suggesting that the labor market was cooling, while factory orders fell for a second straight month. Data on Monday had also pointed to weakening U.S. manufacturing act

A new generation of cryptocurrency, pegged to the dollar, is growing rapidly, promising faster payments and potentially lower interest rates. (Ben Voldman/The New York Times) By TALMON JOSEPH SMITH Cryptocurrencies were designed to be a hedge against the U.S. dollar, which crypto creators viewed as an unreliable currency. Yet one of the fastest-growing crypto coins has risen in popularity precisely because it’s pegged to the greenback. Stablecoins, as they are known, are also

Executives from ⁠top ⁠U.S. exchanges said on Tuesday prediction ⁠markets require consistent regulation to protect investors as the fast-growing asset class draws ​a surge of new users. Prediction markets let users trade contracts tied to the outcome of real-world events, ranging from elections ‌and policy decisions to economic indicators ‌and sports results. Supporters say the markets aggregate collective forecasts into prices that reflect the likelihood of an ⁠outcome, thoug

President Donald Trump speaks to reporters aboard Air Force One on Saturday, March 7, 2026, as Steve Witkoff, back, Trump’s special envoy to the Middle East, and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, right, look on. President Trump insists conflict with Iran will be brief, but world leaders are preparing for severe economic blowback. (Tierney L. Cross/The New York Times) By TONY ROMM, COLBY SMITH and ALAN RAPPEPORT Fuel prices could soar and stay elevated for months. That could mak

Stocks in Asia and Europe tumbled on Monday as the Iran ⁠war ⁠entered its second week and oil prices surged as ⁠much as 30% above $100 a barrel. But Wall Street rallied and oil later sank after President Donald Trump indicated ​the war may soon be over. In my column today I put Wall Street’s resilience under the microscope. As selling snowballs across other equity markets, why has the global avalanche not yet engulfed ‌U.S. stocks? Are there reasonable explanations, or is ‌co

A job fair in Sunrise, Fla., June 26, 2025. Employers cut 92,000 jobs in February 2026, the Labor Department reported on March 6, and the unemployment rate rose to 4.4 percent; losses cut across nearly all major sectors, including health care, which was weighed down by a nurses strike in California. (Scott McIntyre/The New York Times) By SYDNEY EMBER Hiring fizzled in February, a sign of unexpected weakness in the labor market that sent warning signs flashing through the broa

The ⁠New York Stock ⁠Exchange has agreed to pay a $9 million civil ​fine to settle U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission charges over ‌a computer glitch that disrupted ‌the stock market open in January 2023, causing ⁠wild swings ⁠in the prices of blue-chip stocks. Friday’s settlement stemmed from ​a January 24, 2023, incident where the NYSE ran its primary and backup trading systems Pillar Production and Pillar DR -- short ​for “disaster recovery” -- simultaneously by mista

The war has de facto closed the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway off Iran’s southern coast that carries a fifth of the world’s oil. Three maps showing shifts in tanker traffic, sites of damage, and global trade routes. By BLACKI MIGLIOZZI, CHRISTIAAN TRIEBERT, PETER EAVIS, KEITH COLLINS, JACQUELINE GU and REBECCA F. ELLIOTT Every day, around 80 oil and gas tankers typically pass through the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway off Iran’s southern coast that carries a fi