Around 50 million people, or one in seven Americans, live in rural areas. These regions generate less than 10% of gross domestic product, most of which comes from resource-intensive industries such as agriculture, mining and manufacturing.

While some policymakers urge caution due to inflation remaining above the Fed’s 2% target, markets are pricing in 50 bps of cuts by year-end.

Walmart is forming a partnership with OpenAI to let shoppers buy its products directly within ChatGPT, the artificial-intelligence chatbot. It is a signal by the biggest U.S. retailer that online shopping is going to become a different experience from the retail websites we are used to.

JPMorgan Chase will invest $10 billion directly into companies vital for U.S. national security, such as defense and AI firms.

The Institute of Supply Management’s PMI, which measures US manufacturing capacity, was 48.7 in August. Anything below 50 indicates a contraction. That marked the sixth straight month of contraction, which is a worrisome trend given how significant manufacturing is to economic activity.

Most-actively-traded gold futures on Tuesday surpassed $4,000 a troy ounce for the first time. A 52% gain in futures this year is on track to outpace similar surges during the first year of the Covid-19 pandemic and the 2007-09 recession, trailing only the inflationary shock in 1979.

Fifth Third said it would acquire Comerica for $10.9 billion, marking the latest effort by midsize lenders to bulk up and compete with the nation’s biggest banks. The all-stock deal would create one of the nation’s top 20 largest banks, with $288 billion in total assets.

Gen X is barreling toward retirement with an excruciating student-loan burden. The six million-plus borrowers aged 50 to 61 have the highest average balance of any age group, at $47,857.

Assets in U.S. ETFs swelled to a record $12.19 trillion at the end of August, up from $10.35 trillion at the end of last year. If the pace holds during the fourth quarter, when inflows tend to pick up, it will be the market’s second straight record year. In 2024, ETFs added $1.1 trillion.

The spread, that investors are getting by holding investment-grade corporate bonds compared with ultrasafe U.S. Treasurys fell to 0.74 percentage point in September, its lowest level since 1998. The spread for junk-rated bonds is about 2.75 percentage points, near the record low set in 2007.