December 4, 2019 United States: U.S., China Move Closer to Trade Deal Despite Harsh Rhetoric “The U.S. and China are moving closer to agreeing on the amount of tariffs that would be rolled back in a phase-one trade deal despite tensions over Hong Kong and Xinjiang, people familiar with the talks said. The people, who
December 2, 2019 United States: Trump Revives Brazil, Argentina Steel Tariffs, Swipes at Fed “President Donald Trump is reinstating tariffs on steel and aluminum from Argentina and Brazil, nations he criticized for cheapening their currencies to the detriment of U.S. farmers, and again called on the Federal Reserve to loosen monetary policy. Linking his trade
November 29, 2019 United States: Markets Show U.S. Gaining Upper Hand Over China in Trade War “The U.S. is starting to overtake China in the trade war, at least in financial markets. Treasuries have held on to this year’s rally, the dollar remains strong despite three interest-rate cuts and U.S. stocks have been notching a
November 28, 2019 United States: U.S., Canada, Mexico Meet to Push for Final Agreement on USMCA “The White House pushed Wednesday to wrap final negotiations with Democrats on President Donald Trump’s top legislative priority, the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, in meetings with top Mexican and Canadian officials. The administration and House Democrats have been locked in tense
November 27, 2019 United States: Personal Income Booms in States With Decisive Role in 2020 Race “Personal income growth has been surging in some U.S. political battlegrounds, including a third of the counties in Pennsylvania -- which Donald Trump narrowly flipped in 2016 and may need to win re-election next year. In the president’s first
November 26, 2019 United States: U.S. Pork Industry Sees $25 Billion China Market Without Tariffs “U.S. pork producers see a potential $24.5 billion market in China within 10 years if the Trump administration can gain unrestricted trade access after the Asian country’s hog herd has been devastated by disease. The National Pork Producers Council released
November 25, 2019 United States: Impeachment Reaches Decision Stage as Democrats Review Evidence “House Democrats are starting to compress weeks of depositions, documents and testimony into a report almost certain to result in articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump, as the White House wages a campaign to discredit the investigation. Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff
November 22, 2019 United States: Trump’s Fed Pick Judy Shelton Cast Doubt on Central Bank Independence “Judy Shelton, one of President Donald Trump’s most recent picks for the Federal Reserve board, challenged an article of faith regarding the U.S. central bank in private comments to a bank executive last month: that it should operate free
November 21, 2019 United States: Fed Fretted About Economic Risk While Shifting From Cuts to Hold “Federal Reserve officials stressed that risks to the U.S. economy remained elevated as they agreed to put interest rates on hold following their third cut this year. Many participants saw downside risks to the economic outlook as elevated, “further
Date: November 20, 2019 United States: Fed Minutes Seen Reinforcing Message of Rates on Prolonged Hold “Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell and his colleagues have been especially chatty since cutting interest rates last month, yet a record of that meeting may still shed light on the strength of conviction among officials that monetary policy is
