Inflation soared to its highest level in three years last month, marking the first time since 2023 that the cost of living has outpaced average wages in the US.

Annual wage growth slowed to 3.6% last month, while inflation rose to 3.8% year over year, up from 3.3% in March and 2.4% in February, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).

Many economists blame rising inflation on the energy shock caused by the Iran war and the near-shutdown of the Strait of Hormuz, a key shipping route for roughly 20% of the world’s oil and natural gas.

Energy prices are behind more than 40% of inflation’s monthly increase, per the BLS. Compared to a year ago:

Energy prices aren’t the only culprit: Food costs also contributed, as the price of fresh produce (which is typically delivered by diesel trucks) recorded its highest monthly increase in 15 years. Tomatoes alone are about 40% more expensive than last year (see more).

Even if you completely disregard those two… core inflation, which excludes food and energy prices, still climbed 2.8% from a year ago. Since the Federal Reserve pays close attention to that number, the latest report reinforced expectations that interest rate cuts could still be a long way off (what do interest rates have to do with inflation?).

What does all of this mean for your paycheck? Well, nothing good. Since inflation has risen faster than average wages (even though they slightly increased), Americans are effectively losing purchasing power. As a result, consumer sentiment has fallen to historic lows.

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On late Wednesday, President Trump landed in Beijing for a high-stakes, two-day summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping to discuss a broad range of topics as the two nations attempt to repair their fractured relationship.

The trip marks the first time a sitting US president has visited China in almost a decade.

After a rather busy day of negotiating, sightseeing, and long speeches, the two leaders and their delegates discussed Iran, Taiwan, trade, tariffs, and more:

Seeing as Trump was also accompanied by several prominent tech leaders, including former Apple CEO Tim Cook, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, and Tesla CEO Elon Musk (who had his fair share of viral moments), the US wanted to be clear that…

…business was also a big topic: When speaking to the US tech magnates, Xi promised that the door to business in China will “open wider,” and their companies will enjoy “broader prospects” in the country.

While a lot of talking points have been mulled over so far, analysts don’t expect many breakthroughs to happen, at least right away. Plus, some sticking points still remain from the trade war last year:

There was some drama, too: Although things were kept cordial between officials (and presidents), some chaos reportedly erupted behind the scenes.

Looking forward: The trip is expected to end by midday today and will be the first of several meetings between Trump and Xi to occur later this year.

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A new survey found that younger Americans are becoming significantly more pessimistic about the job market while older adults are much more optimistic, a sharp reversal from just a few years ago.

Historically, young people driven by ignorance idealism are more hopeful than older generations about the economy and job hunting. Now, it’s quite the opposite. According to a Gallup World Poll:

The trend is now the largest generational gap in job-market optimism among all 141 countries surveyed.

It wasn’t always this way… a strong majority (almost 70%) of young adults viewed it as a good time to find work in 2023. Now, just three years later, that figure has plummeted by 27 percentage points, a decline on par with the devastating aftermath of the Great Recession in 2008.

Researchers say several economic pressures are driving younger workers’ growing frustration, including:

The pessimism is especially bad among young college graduates and people still trying to land their first full-time job.

But why are boomers so upbeat? Older Americans are relatively optimistic since they tend to be more financially stable, more likely to own homes, and often less directly exposed to the pressures of job hunting.

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Make sure to check on your realtor friend. Even with spring typically being the busiest season for housing, home sales barely budged last month, another sign the market isn’t bouncing back anytime soon.

As high mortgage rates continue to discourage buyers, existing home sales fell to an annual pace of roughly 4 million homes, staying near multi-year lows:

It’s not a supply problem… since the number of unsold homes on the market has actually increased to 1.47 million, the highest number for April since 2019.

So why aren’t people buying? Things just aren’t affordable. Mortgage rates have hovered near 7%, financing costs are higher, and the national median home price climbed to around $417,700 (setting a record for the month of April), making it one of the worst times to buy a home in modern history.

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Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz—the co-founders of (you guessed it) Andreessen Horowitz, one of the world’s largest venture capital firms—are pouring huge amounts of money into this year’s midterm elections.

Why? To prop up AI and crypto-friendly candidates.

With its most recent donations, the venture capital giant, often known as a16z, has emerged as one of the most influential financial forces in American politics. The firm’s founders have collectively dumped over $115 million in political contributions, surpassing billionaire donors like George Soros and Elon Musk.

But where is all of that money going to? According to the NYT:

Why is this news? Venture capitalists have always thrown money at politicians during election cycles, but the firms they work for usually keep their distance from political fundraising.

AI lobbying isn’t just a VC thing: Meta, Nvidia, and Alphabet spent nearly $50 million to influence lawmakers in Washington last year, up 22% from 2024.

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