Despite retreating Thursday after Donald Trump’s comments that bombing will continue in the Iran War, the three major U.S. stock indexes booked gains for the shortened week.
Category: TRENDS ON THE U.S. ECONOMIC FRONT – Apr 7 2026
GM FIRST-QUARTER SALES FALL BY MOST IN FOUR YEARS
General Motors’ sales in this year’s first quarter were 9.7 percent below those a year earlier as high sticker prices and interest rates kept buyers away, The Wall Street Journal reported.
U.S. TRADE DEFICIT WAS LARGER IN FEBRUARY
February’s U.S. trade deficit grew 4.9 percent larger than January’s, rising to $57.3 billion.
MORTGAGE RATE REACHES 6.46 PERCENT
Last week, the U.S. national average interest rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage climbed to 6.46 percent, rising from 6.38 percent the week before to its highest level since September.
U.S. RETAIL SALES OUTPACED INFLATION IN FEBRUARY
In February, U.S. retail sales made their largest month-on-month gain since August, rising 0.6 percent.
U.S. ECONOMY ADDS MOST JOBS IN 15 MONTHS
U.S. employers hired a net 178,000 more workers in March, the most in any month since December 2024, according to the U.S. labor department’s initial estimate.
ECONOMIC UPDATE
By the facts, as we have reported, President Donald Trump keeps saying one thing, doing another thing, or doing nothing.






