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 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 854 – February Core PCE Up 2.8%; Increase from 2.7% Gain in January Data released this morning shows that the Fed’s preferred measure of inflation remains sticky above its target of two percent. Meanwhile, GDP growth for the fourth quarter of last year was revised up slightly. The new data comes as the Trump administration’s …
Update 840 — Week of Chaos, Confusion; GDP Growth Slows in 4th Quarter 2024 The country was plunged this week into a frenzy of chaos and confusion amid the Trump administration’s on-again, off-again freeze on federal grants and loans spending. The broad and vague memo released by the OMB Monday was rescinded on Wednesday but …
Update 837 — Key Nomination Hearings,CPI Report, CTC Bill Lead Week Roundup This week, Trump’s nominees for Treasury Secretary, HUD Secretary, and OMB Director faced pointed questioning by Democratic Senators ahead of coming confirmation votes by the committees of jurisdiction and the full Senate. The three nominees addressed a broad range of economic issues with …
Update 837: Nomination Hearings Lead Week’s Roundup Read More »
Update 835 – 256K Jobs Added in Dec. Too Much of a Good Thing for the Fed? This morning’s Bureau of Labor Statistics jobs report that the U.S. added 256,000 jobs and unemployment ticked back down to 4.1 percent in December shows the American economy closing 2024 on a surprisingly strong note. The report — …
Update 833 — Continuing Irresolution:Speaker Still ISO Plan to Avert Shutdown Mike Tyson once remarked that boxers have a plan going into every fight — until they get punched in the mouth. Speaker Johnson had a viable, bipartisan plan A this week to keep the government funded through mid-March and avert a shutdown via a …
Update 829 — Jobs Gains Up Again in November; Crypto Friendly SEC Pick among New Trump Noms. This morning’s jobs report, showing 227,00 jobs added to the economy and unemployment ticking up to 4.2 percent in November, indicates that the labor market remains strong after labor action and extreme weather led to low job gains in …
Update 826 — First of Trump’s Econ. Policy Noms;End of Basel III/Endgame?; Other Developments President-elect Trump continued announcing Cabinet nominees this week as his administration begins to take shape. The early appointments signal the incoming Trump administration’s intention to elevate the priorities of wealthy interests who appear loyal to Trump and willing to undermine institutional …
Update 820 — All but Tied: Polls in Bell Lap;Global Leaders Worry About Trump Tariffs The final New York Times/Siena poll of the 2024 election cycle published yesterday shows, for the first time, a flat-footed tie at 48 percent each for presidential candidates Kamala Harris and Donald Trump. In all of the seven battleground states …
