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Feds tell automakers to forget about paying fuel economy fines

Automakers selling cars in the United States now have even less incentive to care about fuel economy. As Ars has noted before, the current administration and its Republican allies in Congress have been working hard to undermine federal regulations meant to make our vehicle fleet more efficient. Some measures have been aimed at decreasing adoption of electric vehicles—for example the IRS clean vehicle tax credit will be eliminated at the end of September. Others have targeted federal fuel econom

Economists made a model of the U.S. economy. Our debt crashed the model

People have been worrying about U.S. debt basically ever since there even was a U.S. “The accumulation of debts is a most fearful evil,” Thomas Jefferson wrote in 1787. At the time, U.S. debt was around $40 million. Today, it’s closer to $40 trillion. At the same time, the U.S. economy is bigger and more powerful than Jefferson could have ever imagined, and things are looking pretty good: unemployment is near record lows, inflation is under control… so what’s the problem? “Part of the problem i

Worse Than a Recession? Trump's Tariffs Risk 'Self-Inflicted' Stagflation

An economic downturn combined with high inflation is a double-whammy for your finances. DNY59/Getty Images/Jeffrey Hazelwood/CNET President Donald Trump's turbulent tariff agenda, combined with mass deportations and increased national debt, has created heightened volatility in financial markets. Though many economists say there's low risk of a job-loss recession, others say we're at a critical crossroads, as consumer sentiment sours and the labor market sputters. Some analysts have even posite

Business Class Ain’t What It Used to Be. Don’t Tell First Class

Five years ago, Covid-19 largely brought business travel to a halt. Now companies are getting their employees back in the air, and carriers are reinventing themselves to appeal to post-pandemic fliers willing to pay more. Airlines worldwide are reconfiguring the real estate on their planes by segmenting their cabins into higher-margin business-class seating. They’re beefing up their traditional business cabins to snag higher fares while providing more luxurious premium economy seating for trave

US economy shrank 0.5% in the first quarter, worse than earlier estimates

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. economy shrank at a 0.5% annual pace from January through March as President Donald Trump’s trade wars disrupted business, the Commerce Department reported Thursday in an unexpected deterioration of earlier estimates. First-quarter growth was weighed down by a surge of imports as U.S. companies, and households, rushed to buy foreign goods before Trump could impose tariffs on them. The Commerce Department previously estimated that the economy fell 0.2% in the first qua

The economics behind "Basic Economy" – A masterclass in price discrimination

Basic Economy fares are ultra-restricted airline tickets that offer a lower base price in exchange for fewer benefits than standard economy class. Introduced by major U.S. carriers in the 2010s, these fares have become a widespread strategy for market segmentation - a textbook example of price discrimination in practice. By design, Basic Economy compels travelers to self-select based on their willingness to pay and tolerate restrictions, thus allowing airlines to maximize revenue from different

The Economics Behind "Basic Economy" – A Masterclass in Price Discrimination

Basic Economy fares are ultra-restricted airline tickets that offer a lower base price in exchange for fewer benefits than standard economy class. Introduced by major U.S. carriers in the 2010s, these fares have become a widespread strategy for market segmentation - a textbook example of price discrimination in practice. By design, Basic Economy compels travelers to self-select based on their willingness to pay and tolerate restrictions, thus allowing airlines to maximize revenue from different