Update 866 – GENIUS Fails Senate Test;Reconciliation Faces Test next Tuesday Yesterday, after trying to muscle Democrats into moving forward with the first major piece of crypto legislation this Congress, Senate Majority Leader John Thune faced an embarrassing setback when the GENIUS Act failed to get cloture, falling short by a surprisingly wide margin. The …
Update 865 – Another Fed Rate Pause;June Hold Likely Given Tariff Uncertainty The Federal Reserve hit pause, as expected, on interest rates at the conclusion of its May FOMC meeting this afternoon. While many expected Fed Chair Powell to hint at a coming rate cut at the FOMC’s next meeting in June, he instead emphasized …
Update 864 – GDP Contracts by 0.3%;Trump Skins FY26 Domestic Spending Three key pieces of economic data were released this week. The Fed’s preferred measure of inflation ticked down to 2.3 percent in March, nearing the Fed’s two percent target, while a strong 177,000 jobs were added to the economy and unemployment remained unchanged at …
Update 863 – A Tariffying 100 Days:GDP, Markets, Polling All in Retreat Yesterday marked 100 days since Trump began his second term, a period marked by chaotic and unpredictable shifts in economic policy and a prioritization of Wall Street and the wealthy at the expense of everyday people. His administration, with acquiescence by congressional Republicans, …
Update 862 – Tariffs Taking a TollPoll Numbers Drop, No Deals Done Finance and trade ministers from around the world flocked to D.C. this week for the IMF-World Bank Spring Meetings. Top of mind were Trump’s tariffs and his attack on the global trading system. As forecasts for global growth and inflation were revised downward, …
Update 861 — DOGELess Barking But Still Biting DOGE’s initial visibility, assault on the civil service, budget cuts, and firings drew unwanted scrutiny and criticism, making it the focal point for the backlash against Trump, Musk, and the GOP’s efforts to reshape the federal government. Since then, the Trump administration’s actions, from immigration to tariffs, …
Update 860 – Trump Winging it on Tariffs,Moves to Dismantle Direct File, CFPB Last weekend, the Trump administration exempted some electronic products from its reciprocal tariff regime, an exception likely to be brief. Trump and his advisors have hinted at an investigation to determine an eventual duty on these products. Separately, this week, the administration …
Update 859: Less Enforcement, Broader BreaksTrump IRS Could Threaten America’s Tax System Millions of Americans filed their taxes this week ahead of yesterday’s filing deadline. But this year’s tax day comes amid the Trump administration’s attempts to dismantle the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), the very body responsible for collecting tax revenue used to fund important …
Update 857 – WH: 90-Day 10% Tariff FreezeFor 75 Trade Partners; China Rate at 125% House Republicans are determined to push multiple pieces of economic policy legislation through the chamber this week before they leave town for the Easter recess, including resolutions to keep banking overdraft fees high and payment apps like Cash App and …
Update 855 – Import “Liberation Day”As Trump Recasts US Tariff Rates Yesterday constituted what may be the most consequential day of U.S. and global economic policy in over a century. It was anybody’s guess as to how President Donald Trump would structure his tariff announcement, from country-by-country calculations or establishing sectoral standards and reciprocal duties. …
