What are the best free policy and regulation coverage sites for staying current on the economy?

Here are some of the best free policy and regulation coverage sites for staying current on the economy, especially if you want a mix of breaking news, analysis, and primary-source links.

Best free options

1. Reuters

• Why it’s useful: Fast, broad, and usually very reliable for markets, macroeconomics, central banks, trade, taxes, and regulation.
• Best for: Daily updates on policy shifts, economic indicators, and official actions.
• Strengths: Clear reporting, global reach, good balance of speed and accuracy.

2. Financial Times – free articles / newsletters

• Why it’s useful: Strong coverage of economics, central banks, fiscal policy, and regulation.
• Best for: Deeper context on how policy affects markets and business.
• Note: Much of FT is paywalled, but free articles and newsletters can still be valuable.

3. Bloomberg – free articles / newsletters

• Why it’s useful: Excellent for markets and economic policy, with strong regulatory and central-bank coverage.
• Best for: High-level economic developments and policy implications.
• Note: Like FT, much is paywalled, but some free coverage is available.

4. The Wall Street Journal – free excerpts / newsletters

• Why it’s useful: Good coverage of regulation, the Fed, Treasury, trade, and business policy.
• Best for: Business-policy intersections and rulemaking.
• Note: More limited free access than Reuters or AP.

5. Associated Press (AP News)

• Why it’s useful: Straightforward and reliable reporting on government policy, elections, budgets, and economic data.
• Best for: General economic policy news without much spin.
• Strengths: Broad accessibility, quick summaries.

6. Politico

• Why it’s useful: Very strong on U.S. policymaking, regulation, Congress, agencies, and lobbying.
• Best for: Knowing what’s happening inside Washington that could affect the economy.
• Strengths: Great for policy process and regulatory developments.
• Note: Free access varies by article/newsletter.

7. The Hill

• Why it’s useful: Good for legislative and agency policy coverage.
• Best for: U.S. politics/policy developments that affect economic conditions.
• Strengths: Often faster than more analytical outlets.

8. EconoFact

• Why it’s useful: Nonpartisan explainer site on economic policy questions.
• Best for: Understanding the evidence behind debates on inflation, jobs, trade, taxes, inequality, etc.
• Strengths: Clear, expert-backed analysis.

9. Brookings / AEI / Cato / NBER blogs and policy pages

• Why it’s useful: These think tanks publish free analysis on fiscal policy, monetary policy, labor markets, regulation, and tax policy.
• Best for: Deeper interpretation and different ideological perspectives.
• Tip: Use multiple institutions to compare viewpoints.

10. Federal Reserve, Treasury, SEC, CFTC, FTC, CFPB, DOJ, and agency press releases

• Why it’s useful: These are the primary sources for policy and regulatory changes.
• Best for: Staying current on actual rule changes, enforcement actions, speeches, minutes, and data releases.
• Strengths: Most accurate source; no middleman.
• Tip: Pair these with Reuters/AP to understand significance.

Best primary-source sites for regulation

If your goal is specifically regulation, these are especially useful:

• Federal Register – official daily publication of proposed/final rules and notices
• Regulations.gov – public comment and rulemaking tracker
• Congress.gov – bills, committee actions, and legislative text
• agency websites – SEC, Fed, FTC, CFPB, FDA, EPA, DOL, etc.

Good free newsletters to subscribe to

To save time, newsletters are often the best way to stay current:

• Reuters Economics / Markets newsletters
• Politico Morning Money
• The Daily Upside
• Marketplace newsletters
• EconoFact updates
• Brookings economic policy newsletters
• Agency email alerts from Fed, Treasury, SEC, etc.

A practical “best combo”

If you want a simple free setup:

1. Reuters for daily headlines
2. AP News for neutral general coverage
3. Politico for Washington/regulatory process
4. Federal Register / agency alerts for primary sources
5. EconoFact or Brookings for deeper context

If you want, I can also give you:

• a ranked list specifically for U.S. regulation
• the best free sites for global economic policy
• or a daily reading stack that takes 15 minutes or less.