JPMorgan Chase, the richest U.S. bank, will invest $1.5 trillion over the next 10 years in projects that enhance U.S. self-sufficiency in critical materials and boost competitiveness in advanced technologies, executive chair James Dimon has announced.
Category: TRENDS ON THE U.S. ECONOMIC FRONT – Dec 16 2025
U.S. TRADE DEFICIT SHRINKS TO FIVE-YEAR LOW
In September, the U.S. trade deficit was its smallest since June 2020, the U.S. Commerce Department said, falling 11 percent from August to $52.8 billion.
HOMEOWNERS LOSE EQUITY AS HOME PRICES COME OFF MULTI-YEAR HIGHS
The rise in the selling price of U.S. homes has been slowing for much of this year as more homes have come on the market and sellers have cut prices to entice a still relatively small pool of qualified buyers.
RETAILERS HAVE CUT MORE THAN TWICE AS MANY JOBS THIS YEAR AS LAST
This year, U.S. retailers have dumped 140 percent more workers than they did in 2016, outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas reported.
JOBLESS CLAIMS SURGE
In the week ending 5 December, new claims for unemployment benefits increased at the greatest weekly pace since 2021, The Wall Street Journal reported.
FED GRAPPLES WITH INTERNAL DISSENT, UNRELIABLE DATA
Federal data could be overestimating the U.S. economy’s job creation by as many as 60,000 jobs a month, U.S. Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell told reporters after the bank’s Open Market Committee (OMC) shaved a quarter point off the Fed’s interest rates on 10 December.
DIVIDED FED COMMITTEE CUTS INTEREST RATE BY A QUARTER POINT
As widely expected, the U.S. Federal Reserve’s Open Market Committee cut its key interest rates to their lowest in three years.
ECONOMIC UPDATE – MARKET OVERVIEW
If the government didn’t do it, by the facts, people would call it a con-game. Frequently, a few months after they report the job numbers, they downwardly adjust them.
SPOTLIGHT: DOT-COM BUST 2.0
PUBLISHER’S NOTE: As Trends Journal subscribers well know, we were the first to call a Dot-com Bust 2.0 back in 28 January and it was the cover of our 5 February issue. Now, nearly a year later the reality is hitting the Street.








