Plain Investor
10 guides

Economy & Macro

Inflation, interest rates, GDP, and the forces that move every market at once.

Economy & Macro

Is AI a Bubble? A Framework for Thinking About It

Separating whether AI is a genuinely transformative technology from whether today's prices for it are sustainable is the real question — and history offers a useful, if imperfect, guide.

Sep 21, 2026 · 7 min read
Economy & Macro

AI Regulation and Financial Markets: What to Watch

Governments are moving to regulate AI on several fronts at once, and the resulting uncertainty is itself something markets have to price in, regardless of how the rules eventually settle.

Sep 21, 2026 · 7 min read
Economy & Macro

How to Read Inflation Data Like an Investor

CPI, core CPI, and PCE describe the same economy and rarely agree. Knowing what each measures — and why markets trade the surprise — changes how you read a release.

Sep 21, 2026 · 7 min read
Economy & Macro

What Actually Happens to Your Portfolio When Interest Rates Fall

A falling policy rate does not push every asset in the same direction, or at the same speed. Here is how the effect actually travels through a portfolio.

Sep 21, 2026 · 7 min read
Economy & Macro

How Tariffs and Trade Policy Affect Markets

Who really pays a tariff is one of the genuinely contested questions in economics, and the answer shapes consumer prices, corporate margins, and how markets price uncertainty.

Sep 21, 2026 · 7 min read
Economy & Macro

Government Debt, Deficits, and the Bond Market

The deficit is what a government borrows this year; the debt is everything it still owes. The bond market prices both, and the difference matters more than headlines suggest.

Sep 21, 2026 · 7 min read
Economy & Macro

Recession 101: Signs, Causes, and What Happens to Markets

Recessions are a normal, recurring part of economic cycles — not a rare catastrophe. Here's how they're identified and what tends to happen to markets.

Aug 26, 2026 · 6 min read
Economy & Macro

What Is GDP, and Why Does It Matter to Investors?

GDP is the single number economists reach for first to describe how an economy is doing. Here's what it actually measures, and what it misses.

Aug 18, 2026 · 5 min read
Economy & Macro

Understanding Interest Rates and the Federal Reserve

One institution's decisions ripple through mortgage rates, savings yields, and stock valuations alike. Here's what the Federal Reserve actually controls.

Aug 10, 2026 · 7 min read
Economy & Macro

What Is Inflation and How Does It Affect Your Investments?

Inflation quietly changes what your money is worth even when the number in your account stays the same. Here's how it's measured and why it matters to investors.

Aug 2, 2026 · 6 min read