Federal Reserve

Markets have been seeing some of the biggest stock-price swings in years. And economists say the extreme volatility is starting to weigh down consumer confidence.

Both the Dow Jones index and the S&P 500 saw gains of nearly 4 percent; the Nasdaq index rose even higher.

On Friday, the Labor Department said the July unemployment rate held steady at 5.3 percent. If you had to choose, would you take that to mean the economy is too cool or too hot? Weigh the evidence.

U.S. commodities — copper, corn, coal and more — are cheaper because of China's economic cooling. Producers got caught up in China's "teaser" demand for more of everything. It couldn't last.

Federal Reserve policymakers said Wednesday they will continue to tamp down interest rates. The last time they raised interest rates was June 2006. They set no specific deadline for raising rates.

The economy posted its weakest performance in a year, growing at a 0.2 percent pace in the first quarter. Analysts say that could affect the central bank's timetable for boosting rates.

Both stock and bond markets had already been having a rough week before the Federal Reserve's Janet Yellen warned about "potential dangers."

The World Economic Outlook released by the International Monetary Fund says the pace of economic growth in 2015 will tick up to 3.5 percent, helped along by lower energy costs and weaker currencies.

On Friday, economists were left scrambling to explain why last month's employment growth was just half as good as they expected. Many fingers pointed at the harsh weather, along with port disruptions.

In a statement, the Federal Reserve dropped a pledge to be "patient" before raising interest rates.