Washington Post (January 12)
In his inaugural address President Trump promised that “the immense power of the state” will never again “be weaponized to persecute political opponents.” This is “the biggest broken promise of his second term. The latest example is the criminal investigation of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome H. Powell…. It’s apparent that the real cause of the investigation is Trump’s clashes with Powell over interest rates. Such lawfare has a way of backfiring, and this threat could fortify the central bank’s independence rather than weaken it.”
Tags: Backfiring, Broken promise, Criminal investigation, Fed, Interest rates, Investigation, Lawfare, Persecute, Political opponents, Powell, Real cause, Threat, Trump, Weaponized
Barron’s (January 8)
“There are few winners in the U.S. stock market from higher tariffs,” but investors are betting and hoping to win if the Supreme Court strikes Trump’s tariffs down. “The Supreme Court may or may not issue a Friday ruling regarding the legality of President Donald Trump’s use of emergency powers to impose tariffs without the approval of Congress. But investors already appear to be betting that the court will strike a blow against the levies.”
Tags: Congress, Emergency powers, Investors, Ruling, Stock market, Supreme Court, Tariffs, Trump, U.S., Winners
Reuters (January 5)
“The world economy is making a surprising habit of shrugging off unpleasant shocks…. Since 2020, the planet has weathered a global pandemic, inflation, sharply rising interest rates, and the outbreak of war without a major slump. In 2025, a tsunami of enthusiasm about artificial intelligence offset the disruptive effects of U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade turmoil, keeping economies and financial markets humming. Opposing forces are preparing to battle for supremacy again in 2026. The stage is set for a turbulent contest between gain and pain.”
Tags: 2020, 2026, AI, Disruptive, Financial markets, Gain, Global pandemic, Inflation, Interest rates, Trade turmoil, Trump, Unpleasant shocks, War, World economy
Barron’s (January 2)
“If last year was full of fireworks that ultimately resulted in another big gain for the stock market, 2026 appears set to be a dud. Looking back at 2025, the fact that the S&P 500 index gained 16% feels like a small miracle. The Donald Trump experience has led to wild swings—who can forget the near bear-market in April after the president announced the first iteration of tariffs?” Looking ahead, “we’d expect a relatively flat year, with the S&P 500 finishing down about 2%.”
Tags: 16%, 2%, 2025, 2026, April, Bear market, Big gain, Dud, Fireworks, Flat, S&P 500, Stock market, Tariffs, Trump
Wall Street Journal (December 23)
“New data released Tuesday showed that the unemployment rate has risen from 4% when President Trump took office to 4.6% in November. A sizable drift like that isn’t a good political omen, but it also isn’t rare.”
Barron’s (December 19)
“Tencent Holdings has secured access to high-end Nvidia artificial-intelligence chips that remain restricted to Chinese buyers even after President Donald Trump’s recent semiconductor agreement with the country.” The arrangement exploits a loophole. Tencent will not own the chips outright, but instead access them “through a cloud service operated by Tokyo-based Datasection, which recently announced a deal to buy Nvidia’s flagship Blackwell chips” for use in its data centers. The loophole “undermines a recent assurance by Trump that Nvidia’s top technology would remain off limits to China.”
Tags: Access, AI chips, Assurance, Blackwell chips, Buyers, China, Cloud service, Data centers, Datasection, Loophole, Nvidia, Off limits, Restricted, Semiconductor, Tencent, Tokyo, Trump, Undermine
OilPrice.com (December 17)
In a survey by the Dalas Fed, oil executives “revealed lingering pessimism…. They expect oil markets to be oversupplied in 2026 if the Trump administration succeeds in ending the Ukraine conflict and Russian sanctions are lifted; however, if Russian sanctions continue, along with reduced oil volumes from Iran and Venezuela, markets may approach a balanced position.”
Tags: 2026, Dallas Fed, Iran, Oil executives, Oil markets, Oversupplied, Pessimism, Russian sanctions, Survey, Trump, Ukraine conflict, Venezuela, Volumes
Bloomberg (December 12)
“AI is powering Trump’s economy, but American voters are getting worried.” The Wall Street consensus is “that AI has driven most of the gains on the S&P 500 this year” so that may make AI look like a hero. Among voters, however, there are “signs of an AI backlash, one that could amplify concerns about the cost of living and the job-market outlook in Trump’s economy.” Data center projects are increasingly being “blocked or delayed by local opposition” and roughly $98 billion in investment was “stymied in the second quarter, more than the total for all previous quarters since 2023.”
Tags: AI, Backlash, Blocked, Consensus, Cost of living, Data centers, Delayed, Economy, Gains, Investment, Job market, Opposition, Outlook, S&P 500, Trump, Voters, Wall Street, Worried
Wall Street Journal (December 9)
President Trump promised “a manufacturing boom. He got one—in China.” Cementing its ”status as the world’s indispensable factory floor…. Chinese industrial production broke records this year as its factories churned out more cars, machinery and chemicals than ever before. Despite the disruptions of tariffs, the country’s trade surplus in goods has set a record, as growing shipments to Asia, Europe, Latin America and Africa offset the hit from Trump’s levies on direct sales to the U.S.”
Tags: Africa, Asia, Cars, Chemicals, China, Europe, Factories, Indispensable, Industrial production, Latin America, Machinery, Manufacturing boom, Shipments, Status, Tariffs, Trade surplus, Trump, U.S.
Washington Post (December 6)
“Trump and Vance promised their trade and immigration policies would usher in a new golden age, leading to a renaissance of new factories that would employ native-born workers…. Yet manufacturing contracted for the ninth straight month in November… as factories face slumping orders and higher prices for inputs because of tariffs.” Republican leaders are urging consumers to “relax.” This is neither “a winning economic message” or at all “soothing… when you’re struggling to pay for groceries, let alone Christmas presents.”
Tags: Consumers, Economic message, Factories, Golden age, Groceries, Immigration, Manufacturing, Native-born, Prices, Relax, Slumping orders, Struggling, Tariffs, Trade, Trump, Vance, Workers
