Category: TRENDS ON THE U.S. ECONOMIC FRONT

During the 12 months from 1 March 2020 through February 2021, the U.S. economic lockdown politicians imposed during the pandemic ended 200,000 more businesses than would have closed during a normal economy, a study published on 15 April by the U.S. Federal Reserve has found. About 600,000 U.S. businesses, or roughly 8.5 percent, close in...

The Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 index closed last week hitting new highs with the Dow setting its 21st record close this year. And the S&P, which has surged 87 percent from its low last March, hit its 23rd record close and is up 5.8 percent in this year’s first quarter. With some...

Jerome Powell, the chairman of the Federal Reserve, said Friday that the slow rollout of COVID-19 vaccines in countries outside the U.S. could hamper the prospects of a swift global recovery.  The Wall Street Journal reported that despite the vaccination progress in the U.S., some emerging economies are having difficulty vaccinating their populations. UBS estimated that these...

TuSimple, an automated driving system for long-distance trucks, has filed papers to make an initial public stock offering in late March, despite its meager revenues and hefty expenses. Argo AI, which makes automated taxis and has cadged investments from Ford and Volkswagen, may go public late this year or early next, the company’s CEO told...

A new national coalition of business groups representing thousands of retailers will press the U.S. government for stricter antitrust laws, including measures that might force Amazon to spin off some of its business lines. The group, called Small Business Rising, announced itself on 6 April and includes the National Grocers Association, the American Booksellers Association,...

In search of higher yields, private equity firms are loaning money, sometimes hundreds of millions of dollars, to ambitious businesses that are not turning a profit but have some prospect of doing so in the future. Companies turn to these new forms of bonded loans, known as “asset-backed securitizations” (ABS) to raise money without issuing...

Seeking to fill a $15-billion budget hole dug by the pandemic and resulting economic shutdown, New York’s state legislature approved a $212-billion budget that raises corporate and income taxes on the state’s most affluent earners. The budget adds funding for schools, arts groups, small business aid, renewable energy, and tenants behind on their rent. It...

U.S. HOUSING MARKET REMAINS AT FEVER PITCH. For the first time, the average U.S. home is selling above its list price, data firm Redfin reported. In Austin, Texas, possibly the liveliest real estate market in the country, the average sale fetches 107 percent of the asking price, the company said. Housing prices will rise another...

The Donald Trump-alleged trade war with China and other nations was a factual failure.  According to the Commerce Department, the U.S. trade deficit surged to a record high in February, ballooning another 4.8 percent to a record $711 billion as the cheap money fiscal stimulus spiked the fastest economic growth in some 40 years.  Meanwhile,...

The airline industry is not expected to recover its pre-pandemic passenger loads until at least 2023, but airlines hope that figure might need to be revised. Spring bookings on American Airlines have reached 90 percent of their pre-pandemic volumes, and its domestic flights already are 80 percent full, the airline stated in a recent regulatory...