Update 904 — September CPI up to 3%;Roadmarks ahead for Ongoing Shutdown This morning saw the release of new data showing that prices rose 3.0 percent on an annualized basis in September — the highest level since January. The price increase and the steady increases in recent months are the by-product of the Trump administration’s …
Update 893 – Macro Muddle Faces Fed; Democrats’ Shutdown Strategy Emerges The nation’s macroeconomic picture got murkier this week, with CPI showing August prices rising by the most since January, even as jobless claims jumped by the most in four years this week and unemployment edged up last month — “a curious kind of balance,” …
Update 879 – Trade Uncertainty Persists;U.S. Firms, Consumers Slow to Respond This week, the Trump administration pushed the Liberation Day 60-nation tariff “deadline” to August 1. President Trump took to social media to announce the new rates 21 nations will face by the new deadline. The very sectors and businesses that the President campaigned to …
Update 879: Tariff Rate Delay and Suspended Animation Read More »
Update 878 – OBBB’s Parable of the Cave: GOP Moderates, Hawks Chicken Out on Bill Moments ago, the House passed Trump’s signature domestic economic legislation, the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” sending it to Trump’s desk in time for July 4. Trump achieves much of his domestic policy agenda, with his TCJA tax cuts extended, …
Update 875 – OBBB Senate Obstacles,Fed Freeze, Genius Act Vote Lead Week With the Senate Finance Committee’s text for the GOP One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBB) released this week, we now have a full picture of the Senate’s approach to reconciliation. Though expected to be a more moderate version of the House bill that passed …
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 596 — Arsenal of Democracy:Debating (How) America COMPETES The America COMPETES Act making its way through Congress could leave an indelible stamp on competitiveness, manufacturing, workforce provisions, and industrial policy generally. COMPETES provides overdue investments for the US to set standards for the global economy and to expand economic opportunities domestically. The bill rejects …
Update 382 — Mnuchin Goes Manchurian:Trump’s Tariff Policy Bites His Base, Mostly Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said last week regarding President Trump’s tariff policy that “We have not yet seen any impact on the U.S. economy.” Secretary Mnuchin might get out of the Yale Club more. Like to Missouri, where the farmers have lost the …
Update 357 — Ex-Im Bank Reauthorization; Bizarre Bugbear of Incoherent Opposition If ever there were a government program a Trump administration could love, it would be the Ex-Im Bank. It finances American trade and jobs and supports critical industry, including national defense contractors, doing so at a profit to taxpayers. Yet, to run the Bank, …
