U.S. investors greeted Donald Trump’s re-election with joy, anticipating tax cuts, fewer regulations, and soaring profits. Stock prices climbed even further beyond the value of companies’ future earnings. The difference between stock prices and the price of government bonds widened to its greatest in 20 years.
Tag: Consumer Spending
WHEN THE ECONOMY FALLS, JOBS GO WITH IT
The U.S. economy added 151,000 jobs in February, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on Friday. Employment was up in health care, financial activities, transportation and warehousing, and social assistance.
THE U.S., LIKE CHINA, RIGGING ITS ECONOMIC NUMBERS
In a 2 March Fox interview, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said he plans to remove government spending as a component of statistics about the U.S. gross domestic product.
INDONESIAN ECONOMY LOSES ITS “BACKBONE” AS MIDDLE CLASS DISAPPEARS
Indonesia’s middle class, long considered the backbone of the aspirational country’s economy, has shrunk by about 20 percent since 2018, threatening growth and frightening away foreign investors, the Financial Times reported.
DELINQUENT LOANS ON THE RISE AMONG U.S. BUSINESSES
The share of U.S. business loans falling behind in their payments is the highest since 2017 and could rise even higher as the impact of Donald Trump’s trade war begins to bite, the Financial Times reported.
CORPORATIONS SEE LOWER PROFITS AHEAD
After an upbeat earnings season, corporations foresee a less sunny future.
U.S. RETAIL SALES DROP MOST IN TWO YEARS
Last month, U.S. consumers spent 0.9 percent less than in December, the commerce department reported, the largest one-month drop since March 2023.
U.S. DOMINANCE OF EQUITY MARKETS IS ENDING
The U.S. stock market’s global dominance will peak this year and then decline, Michael Hartnett, Bank of America’s chief global strategist, has warned.
U.S. ECONOMY GREW 2.8 PERCENT IN 2024
U.S. GDP expanded by 2.8 percent last year, the Commerce Department reported. The growth was smaller than 2023’s 3.2 percent but compared to much of the world, the U.S. economic growth is doing better than most.
GOING OUT OF BUSINESS TRENDS
The economic landscape has presented an array of challenges that have profoundly affected the business community this year.