Timelines
How the main stories unfold, day after day: each timeline gathers the articles about one event, with a summary.
- US designates helium as a critical material, citing its importance for semiconductors
The U.S. government has designated helium as a critical material because it is indispensable for making semiconductors that are essential to energy generation, and the global supply is at risk of disruption, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported on Friday 23 October. CBS News, headlining that the designation came days after a 60 Minutes report, said it makes more federal financing available for helium producers.
- US Treasury proposes a rule to crack down on high-tech investments in China and other adversaries
The U.S. Treasury Department has proposed a rule to crack down on American high-tech investments in China, Russia, North Korea and other 'countries of concern', The Philadelphia Inquirer and ABC News reported. On Friday 23 October Fortune headlined that the proposed rule would crack down on AI and biotech investments greater than $50,000 in China, Russia and other 'countries of concern'.
- US jobless claims fall to 194,000, the lowest since July
U.S. unemployment claims fell to 194,000 last week, the fewest in three months, The Philadelphia Inquirer, ABC News and the LA Times reported on Thursday 22 October, all headlining the lowest level since July. The three outlets described the figure as another sign that layoffs remain low and most Americans enjoy extraordinary job security. PBS NewsHour, also headlining the lowest level since July, reported that so far this year claims have remained at historically low levels, never topping 230,000 in a single week, and CNBC that initial filings for unemployment insurance slipped to a seasonally adjusted 194,000, headlining that jobless claims are near the lowest since the 1960s as the low-fire trend continues.
- California state workers begin a one-day strike over a return-to-office mandate, pay and healthcare
California state workers began a one-day strike on Wednesday 21 October over a return-to-office mandate, pay and healthcare, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported, after the Inquirer and ABC News had reported that the workers would launch the strike. The workers are urging Gov. Gavin Newsom's administration to agree to a new contract that increases workers' pay, ensures affordable healthcare access and allows more flexibility for remote work, according to both outlets.
- New Jersey food importer sues to challenge Trump's 50% tariffs on Canadian goods
A New Jersey food importer filed a lawsuit on Tuesday 20 October challenging President Donald Trump's power to invoke a Depression-era law to levy a 50% tariff on $20 billion worth of Canadian goods, The Philadelphia Inquirer and ABC News reported. According to CNBC, which called it the latest trade challenge, the new lawsuit challenges Trump's tariffs on a range of Canadian goods using Section 338 of the Tariff Act of 1930.
- China's economy grew 4.5% in the July-September quarter on robust exports as domestic weakness persists
China says its economy grew 4.5% in the July-September quarter from a year ago, moving closer to meeting its official annual growth target as the year nears its end, The Philadelphia Inquirer and ABC News reported on Monday 19 October. The growth was better than forecasts, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer, and both outlets wrote that the economy accelerated on robust exports as domestic weakness persists. According to Fortune, the export boom risks being 'a drag on world growth', and Cornell's Eswar Prasad said it is 'untenable and unsustainable' for China to rely on foreign demand.
- Fed chair Kevin Warsh says price stability is key but shies away from signals about rates
Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh said on Friday 16 October that price stability is key but shied away from signals about rates, The Philadelphia Inquirer and PBS NewsHour reported. The Fed chair declined to prejudge what the U.S. central bank will do about interest rates at its upcoming meetings in October and December, according to PBS NewsHour.
- Wholesale inflation jumps by the most in four years as gas prices soar
Wholesale inflation rose more quickly than expected last month on a big jump in fuel costs, jumping by the most in four years as gas prices soared, The Philadelphia Inquirer and ABC News reported on Thursday 15 October, a sign that stubbornly rising prices remain an economic challenge for consumers and a political problem for Republicans in the midterm elections. Businesses were hit even harder by inflation last month than consumers, at levels not seen since late 2022, NBC News reported.
- Americans filing for jobless aid remain at historically low levels below 200,000
U.S. applications for unemployment benefits inched up last week, the number of Americans filing for jobless aid remaining at historically low levels below 200,000, The Philadelphia Inquirer and ABC News reported on Thursday 15 October. Layoffs remain historically low and most American workers enjoy job security, according to both outlets.
- Retail sales rise a better-than-expected 0.8% in September as shoppers remain resilient
Retail sales rose a better-than-expected 0.8% in September from August, underscoring shoppers' resilience, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported on Thursday 15 October. Shoppers showed their willingness to spend in September even after a better-than-expected splurge in August, The Philadelphia Inquirer and ABC News reported.
- EU leaders push back on a major long-term budget proposal, putting a deal in doubt
Ireland proposed a $1.81 trillion EU budget through 2034, a seven-year spending plan that would increase the EU budget by 30%, Fortune reported on October 13, while major contributors are demanding cuts and Sweden called it 'wildly unaffordable'. The LA Times reported that tensions are flaring over the EU's next long-term budget ahead of unpredictable elections in 2027, the EU budget, known as the multiannual financial framework, amounting to around 1.2% of the 27-nation bloc's gross national income. On Thursday 15 October, European Union leaders voiced strong opposition to a new proposal for the bloc's long-term budget, putting a deal by the end of the year in doubt, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported, ABC News saying a deal by 2027.
- Brazil's Senate approves a constitutional amendment cutting the maximum workweek from 44 to 40 hours
Brazil's Senate has approved a constitutional amendment to reduce the maximum workweek from 44 to 40 hours without cutting salaries, The Philadelphia Inquirer and ABC News reported. Both outlets called the approval a major win for Lula ahead of the runoff.
- Fed Governor Lisa Cook's lawyers call the committee Trump set up to investigate Cook 'biased'
President Donald Trump has established a 'committee of inquiry' to investigate allegations that Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook made false statements in mortgage applications, opening another chapter in the president's effort to fire Cook, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported on Friday 9 October. The inquiry will include a hearing at the White House on Nov. 5 that Cook 'shall' attend to answer questions from the committee, Trump said in a written memo, and the hearing would not be public but a transcript would be published, according to the LA Times. Trump tried to fire Cook, a nominee of former President Joe Biden, but the Supreme Court blocked the first attempt, CNBC reported, adding that Trump's bid could affect Jerome Powell, central bank independence and interest rates. A lawyer for Lisa Cook raised 'significant concerns' over the 'objectivity and fitness of the committee', The New York Times reported on October 13, and according to Bloomberg, Lisa Cook says attending the Nov. 5 hearing at the White House will not be possible. On October 14, Cook's lawyers said the committee is 'demonstrably biased', though the lawyers did not close the door on the possibility that Cook would appear before the panel, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported.
- IMF chief urges the US and other wealthy nations to rein in debt
The head of the International Monetary Fund said on Wednesday 14 October that the United States and other wealthy nations need to urgently tackle mounting global debt levels that are weighing heaviest on low-income countries, ABC News reported, PBS NewsHour adding that those debt levels are straining the global financial system. IMF chief Kristalina Georgieva said Scott Bessent's reliance on growth won't cut the U.S. deficit and $40 trillion debt fast enough, calling for fiscal consolidation, CNBC reported. According to Fortune, the IMF says 'There is no magic' and that the U.S. and other nations must 'go in a direction of tightening' global debt as economic growth can't 'deliver fast enough', while rising bond yields have been disrupting financial markets.
- Social Security benefits to rise 3.6% in 2027 with the annual cost-of-living adjustment
Social Security recipients will get a 3.6% cost-of-living adjustment in 2027, NBC News and ABC News reported on Wednesday 14 October, citing the Social Security Administration, which announced the adjustment after Wednesday's September inflation report, according to Business Insider. ABC News and the LA Times put the increase at an average of $75 per month, a figure Business Insider attributes to AARP calculations, while NBC News said individual retirement benefits will climb an average of about $70 per month, citing the Social Security Administration. Business Insider said the increase is higher than the 2026 increase of 2.8%, and Fortune said the adjustment comes as inflation hits 3.7% and older Americans struggle with rising healthcare, grocery and gas bills.
- Irish public sector workers strike for higher pay, leading to school closures
Hundreds of thousands of Irish teachers, doctors and civil servants walked off the job on Wednesday 14 October, leading to school closures and canceled medical appointments, The Philadelphia Inquirer and ABC News reported. Bloomberg put the number of public sector workers on strike at 300,000, demanding higher pay to cope with the rising cost of living.
- IMF raises its 2026 world growth forecast to 3.1% but says economies will slow in 2027
The International Monetary Fund has slightly upgraded its outlook for the world economy for this year, though it is forecasting growth at a still sluggish 3.1%, and says economies will slow in 2027, The Philadelphia Inquirer and ABC News reported. According to CNBC, the IMF raised its 2026 global growth forecast to 3.1% as AI investment helped offset the war's energy shock, and now sees the global economy slowing less than expected in 2026.
- Robert E. Hall and Michael Woodford win the economics Nobel for work on managing economic shocks
American economists Robert E. Hall and Michael Woodford won the Nobel Memorial Prize in economics on Monday 12 October for their work on models that have helped governments and central banks manage economic shocks, such as energy crises and inflation, PBS NewsHour reported. The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences announced the winners in Stockholm, saying the two were being honored for work that has helped policymakers deal with economic fluctuations, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer. Fortune said Stanford's Robert Hall and Columbia's Michael Woodford reshaped how central banks respond to crises by studying consumer and business decisions, and that the prize went to the scholar whose work shaped Fed 'forward guidance', a practice Kevin Warsh says has gone too far.
- Hurricane Isaias, linked to at least four deaths, leaves nearly 396,000 customers without power
Hurricane Isaias, the first hurricane of the Atlantic season, came ashore as a Category 2 hurricane on Friday 9 October near Destin, Florida, and then moved into Alabama before heading farther north, according to PBS NewsHour. It left hundreds of thousands without power in Alabama and the Florida Panhandle, The Philadelphia Inquirer and ABC News reported on Saturday 10 October, and on Sunday 11 October the two outlets reported that Isaias had left nearly 396,000 customers without power across the Florida Panhandle and southern Alabama as it moved north to the Appalachians and the mid-Atlantic. At least four deaths were linked to the storm, PBS NewsHour reported on Sunday. Isaias left a trail of destruction in the Florida Panhandle and southern Alabama, according to the LA Times, and its remnants brought heavy rain and flooding risks to parts of the central Appalachians and the mid-Atlantic, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported.
- Fed minutes show most officials expect another rate hike this year
Most Federal Reserve officials expect that another interest rate increase will likely be needed this year to combat inflation, according to minutes released Wednesday from the central bank's most recent policy meeting, held on September 15-16. The minutes gave no sign as to when the hike would come, CNBC reports.