Follow the Data features regular posts on macroeconomic trends, paired with hands-on use of RESERVE to explore the underlying data via the St. Louis Fed’s FRED® platform.
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$34 Trillion in Debt: Crisis or Context?
The U.S. national debt has surpassed $34 trillion. That number sounds alarming—but on its own, it doesn’t tell you much. To understand whether this is a crisis or just context, we need to stop looking at headlines—and start looking at the data. The Problem with Big Numbers $34 trillion is a big number. But so …
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The Domino’s Problem: Are Consumers Starting to Tap Out?
As of May 2026, the high-level narrative still points to strong consumer spending. Visa’s latest earnings report highlighted 17% revenue growth, partly driven by continued consumer strength. But this is a K-shaped economy—and not all consumers are participating equally. On April 27th, Domino’s Pizza told a very different story: Domino’s Pizza (DPZ) Q1 2026 earnings, …
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