February 20, 2020 United States: White House Admits That Trump Trade Stance Did Depress Economy “The White House acknowledged what many economists considered obvious through much of last year: President Donald Trump’s trade stance depressed economic growth and business investment. Uncertainty generated by trade negotiations dampened investment,” Trump chief economist Tomas Philipson told reporters in
February 18, 2020 United States: Fed Doesn’t Want Another Repo Crisis, But Treasury Isn’t Helping “The Federal Reserve has doled out tens of billions to calm the short-term lending markets after they went haywire in September. But initiatives by the U.S. Treasury Department -- to ensure it always has enough cash to pay its bills as the
February 17, 2020 United States: Trump Goes Orthodox With His Trade Re-Election Pitch “President Donald Trump’s place in the history books is likely to be that of the iconoclastic disruptor. He was elected in 2016 promising an economic agenda meant to give mainstream practitioners and policy makers tariff-derived palpitations. And by and large — on trade,
February 14, 2020 United States: In Hot U.S. Jobs Market, Half of College Grads Are Missing Out “Millions of Americans are seeing little return from their expensive college degrees -- even in today’s hot jobs market. For the first time in decades, recent college graduates are more likely to be out of work than the
February 12, 2020 United States: U.S. Home-Refinancing Applications Hit Highest Level Since 2013 “Falling mortgage rates are spurring a surge in U.S. homeowners seeking to refinance their loans to lock in lower payments. A gauge of mortgage refinancing volume rose 5% last week to the highest level since June 2013, according to a Mortgage Bankers
February 11, 2020 United States: Pay May Drop Under 2020 Democrats’ Safety Net Plans, Study Says “Proposals by several Democratic presidential candidates to shore up Social Security by raising payroll taxes could have a downside: lower economic growth and reduced wages, according to a study by the right-leaning Tax Foundation. Democratic contenders including former Vice
February 10, 2020 United States: Trump Forecasts Growth Above 3% This Year. Economists Disagree. “President Donald Trump assumes economic growth above 3% this year in his annual budget proposal, exceeding mainstream analyst forecasts and other key authorities in Washington. The White House proposal for fiscal 2021 says gross domestic product growth will climb 3.1% in
February 07, 2020 United States: Trump Impeachment Acquittal Leaves Diplomats Bracing for Impact “President Donald Trump mostly stifled his fury toward the impeachment witnesses who detailed, over hundreds of hours of testimony, the turmoil wrought by his handling of Ukraine policy. Now that he’s been acquitted of two impeachment charges, they’re bracing for payback. It’s
February 06, 2020 United States: U.S. Jobs Report to Contrast Healthy 2020 Start With Weaker Past "The U.S. job market probably got off to a healthy start in 2020 but may also lose some of the luster President Donald Trump boasted about this week. January figures due Friday are projected to show U.S. employers added
United States: Trump Sights In WTO Procurement Pact for Leverage on U.K., EU “The world is starting to see what President Donald Trump had in mind when he vaguely pledged in Davos last month to reform the World Trade Organization or he’d “do something.” Trump administration officials are circulating a draft executive order that
