Overview
- Voters heading to the polls Tuesday report cost-of-living pain as their top concern, with polls and consumer sentiment indexes showing widespread dissatisfaction with the economy.
- New York Fed researchers say tariffs introduced after January 2025 added roughly 2.9 percentage points to goods-price inflation by February 2026, reversing earlier disinflation trends.
- Energy shocks tied to the conflict with Iran have pushed gasoline and diesel prices sharply higher and helped lift headline CPI to about 3.7 percent, with petrol a major contributor.
- Macro data tell a different story: GDP grew at an annualized pace above 3 percent last quarter, unemployment remains low and consumer spending is strong even as AI-driven gains lift stock values for asset owners.
- The Federal Reserve has resumed tightening and longer-term yields and mortgage rates have climbed to multi-year highs near 7.2–7.4 percent, worsening housing affordability and intensifying voter anger over everyday costs.