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This year, Halloween spending is set to break records, casting a festive but even slightly spooky shadow over consumer wallets.  According to the National Retail Federation's annual survey, Americans are projected to shell out a chilling $13.1 billion, a climb from last year's $11.6 billion and surpassing 2023's previous high.  Despite concerns about higher prices, especia

“Because that’s where the money is” is an apocryphal quote attributed to Willie Sutton after he was allegedly asked why he robs banks.  He went on to deny saying it but also believes that would have been his answer had the question actually been posed.  Since his time as a bank robber, banking has changed a lot.  Just recently I discovered that the branch I open

In the 1992 movie Wayne’s World, there’s that classic street hockey moment where Wayne and Garth yell “Game off!” every time a car comes down the street, everyone moves aside, the game stops and then “Game on!” as soon as the street clears.  It’s funny in a movie, but when tariffs in an economy are suddenly switched “on” and th

Stablecoins have been making a lot of headlines lately.  Atlas has been fielding calls about them and has a relatively naïve understanding of the new technology.

Political turbulence has become the new normal, yet economic markets are learning to live with the chaos.

Welcome to Friday, jobs day.  Your federal government may be shut down, but Atlas is not.  A quick glance at the economic calendar will show you that the Bureau of Labor Statistics is supposed to release the September 2025 labor report later this morning.  This would in turn cause Atlas to send you a note about the release’s details.  That initial condition was not met

Housing affordability in America is right around all-time lows.  The percent of median income needed to buy a median-priced home now far exceeding traditional affordability benchmarks.  According to this article

Like the first crisp breeze that signals summer’s end, the Federal Reserve’s decision to lower the overnight interest rate on Wednesday suggests a chill in the economic air, one marked by growing concern over the labor market. 

At the core of economic growth are two main factors: population growth and productivity.  All else equal, a larger population enables more production and consumption, but the quality and skills of the workforce are equally important.  When output per hour rises due to higher productivity, the cost per unit tends to fall, potentially driving down prices and increasing consumption, espe

The calendar has turned, and we find ourselves on the backside of Labor Day.  Halloween, however, is nearly two months away.  America finds itself in a sort of doldrums.  Summer is unofficially over, yet the holiday season has not arrived.  Many Americans resort to Pumpkin Spice Lattes (PSL) as a way of taking the edge off of this uneventful period.  If that’s you