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By Kristin Myers, Editor-in-Chief

What's Happening Today

Good morning! It's Kristin with your daily morning digest.

Stocks are falling today as equities further extended heavy losses yesterday in a broad-based sell-off that slammed investor portfolios. The tech-heavy Nasdaq suffered the greatest losses, dropping more than 4% yesterday, while the Dow sank nearly 2%, and the S&P 500 was down over 3%, amid concerns about rising inflation and future rate hikes from the Federal Reserve.

Interest rates are likely to only go higher this year as the central bank continues to hike rates to fight inflation. The move will help bring prices down, but higher rate environments don't typically favor high-growth stocks like those that dominate the tech sector.

Tomorrow, the government will release the latest inflation data, which will show if the Fed's decision to raise interest rates has been working. Economists are expecting inflation to have come down slightly in April to 8.1%, a drop from 8.5% in March.

The Fed's Survey of Consumer Expectations released yesterday showed U.S. consumers have become a little more optimistic about short-term inflation easing in the year ahead, and their expectations for spending jumped to a record high. Slowing inflation would be a welcome relief to many Americans who have been shelling out more and more money to pay for groceries, goods, and other services.

The one place Americans won't get much relief? The gas pump. Gas prices have spiked again, this time to a new nationwide record of $4.37, according to the latest data from AAA. Diesel also recorded a new record high today at $5.55 a gallon.

Small businesses have also taken a hit from rising prices, as owners' expectations for conditions over the next six months hit a record low, according to a survey released this morning by the National Federation of Independent Business. Inflation continued to be the top business problem for owners, though the share of owners raising prices to offset higher costs ticked down to 70%, 2 percentage points below last month's record-high reading.

- Kristin

Editors' Picks

Inflation Rate Finally Seen Slowing (a Tad) (The Balance)

Oil Prices, Increasing Demand Push Gas to Record High (The Balance)

Americans Planning Summer Travel Face a New Hurdle: High Inflation (The Wall Street Journal)

States Turn to Tax Cuts as Inflation Stays Hot (The New York Times)

Current Federal Reserve Interest Rates and Why They Change (The Balance)

How Long Does It Take for Series EE Bonds To Mature? (The Balance)

9 Benefits of Having a Good Credit Score (The Balance)

Off the Charts

Higher oil prices and increasing demand for gasoline pushed regular gas to a new record high of $4.37 a gallon today, busting past the previous high of $4.33 set on March 11.

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Number of the Day

2011 - That's the last time (before now) the S&P 500 had fallen five weeks in a row, showing why the stock market's recent deterioration is so hard to take.