When a government borrows to fund its programs, that puts pressure on consumer prices, according to research by Ernie Tedeschi, director of economics at Yale University’s Budget Lab and former chief economist for President Joe Biden’s White House Council of Economic Advisers.
On 6 March, the European Central Bank (ECB) shaved a quarter point off its key interest rate, dropping it to 2.5 percent.
January’s trade deficit soared 34 percent from December as American businesses stockpiled goods from other countries ahead of Donald Trump’s promised wave of stiff tariffs on all goods coming into the U.S.
The U.S. annual inflation in January ran at 2.5 percent, a slight slowdown from December’s 2.6 percent, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported. The month-to-month rate was up 0.3 percent, the same as it was in December.
Consumers have taken an increasingly dark view of the U.S. economy and its future, the newest monthly University of Michigan survey of consumer sentiment has found.
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.
In the week ending 12 February, 47.3 percent of individuals invested in the U.S. stock market expect share prices to fall during the next six months, the most since November 2023, a survey by the American Association of Individual Investors found.
The Bank of Russia kept its interest rate at a record 21 percent for a second consecutive meeting as inflation in January was estimated at 9.9 percent, up from 9.5 percent in December and more than twice the bank’s target rate.
After an upbeat earnings season, corporations foresee a less sunny future.
Americans now have a record $1.21-trillion balance on their credit cards, according to the new quarterly report from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.