New Yorker (June 10)
Now that a New York jury has convicted former President Trump of thirty-four felony counts, “the American people will decide to what extent they care.” But the verdict is hardly the only key to understanding the impact of a second Trump term. “Even the most summary assessment of Trump’s rhetoric, actions, and intentions makes clear that the election in November is a matter of emergency. To return an unstable and malevolent authoritarian to the White House risks wounding American democracy in ways that would likely take decades to repair.”
Tags: Actions, Authoritarian, Convicted, Election, Emergency, Felony counts, Intentions, Jury, Malevolent, New York, President, Rhetoric, Trump, U.S., Verdict, White House
Wall Street Journal (June 8-9)
“The recession, predicted by business executives, economists, and investors, refuses to show up. Steady hiring continues to fuel consumer spending and, in turn, an economic expansion unlike any the U.S. has seen. Employers added 2.75 million jobs over the last 12 months,” with an unemployment rate “at or below 4% for 30 months, something that last occurred during the Vietnam War in the late 1960s and the Korean War in the early 1950s.”
Tags: Consumer spending, Economic expansion, Economists, Employers, Executives, Hiring, Investors, Predicted, Recession, U.S., Unemployment rate
Washington Post (June 4)
“The European Central Bank on Thursday is almost certain to lower its benchmark interest rate for the first time in nearly five years. The move will come as the Federal Reserve remains on hold with plans to trim U.S. borrowing costs, amid inflation that is proving more stubborn than anticipated.” For the ECB, however, inflation appears to be “less of a problem than the weak growth outlook.”
Tags: Benchmark, Borrowing costs, ECB, Fed, Inflation, Interest rate, Lower, Outlook, Stubborn, U.S., Weak growth
Bloomberg (June 2)
“The main drivers behind the remarkably resilient American consumer are losing steam at the same time, suggesting a recent pullback in household demand may be more than just a one-off. Real disposable incomes have risen only modestly over the past year.” The U.S. personal savings rate is sharply lower than a year ago and “many Americans are increasingly relying on credit cards and other sources of financing to support their spending.”
Tags: Consumer, Credit cards, Disposable incomes, Financing, Household demand, Main drivers, Pullback, Resilient, Savings, U.S.
Time (May 30)
“There are moments in American history that we all know matter, even if we aren’t clear at the time about their weight.” These moments become “political inflection points” and one of them “just took place in lower Manhattan. Thursday’s decision by a dozen jurors to find former President Donald Trump guilty of 34 felony crimes is an era-defining event, but how it will shape the age remains entirely uncertain.”
Tags: Decision, Era-defining event, Felony crimes, Guilty, History, Inflection points, Jurors, Manhattan, Moments, Political, Trump, U.S., Uncertain
Washington Post (May 28)
“Nearly everything Americans believe about the economy is wrong.” A recent poll revealed that dire “perceptions of the U.S. economy are often at odds with reality.” In fact, “the U.S. economy has been growing consistently for nearly two years, even after accounting for inflation” and is “exceeding growth expectations” across most benchmarks. “The U.S. economy has been outperforming other advanced economies. We’re also doing better than pre-pandemic forecasts had situated us by now, both in terms of gross domestic product and the number of jobs out there. This generally isn’t true elsewhere in the world.”
Tags: Benchmarks, Economy, Expectations, GDP, Growing, Inflation, Outperforming, Perceptions, Poll, Pre-pandemic, Reality, U.S., Wrong
New York Times (May 27)
“The United States, Europe and other wealthy nations are trying frantically to catch up” to China which, according to the IEA, “accounted for 85 percent of all clean-energy manufacturing investment in the world” in 2022. These nations are now “spending huge amounts on subsidizing homegrown companies while also seeking to block competing Chinese products.” They seem to be making “modest inroads” with China’s share of investment falling to 75% in 2023.
Tags: 2022, 2023, Catch up, China, Clean-energy, Competing, Europe, Homegrown, IEA, Inroads, Manufacturing investment, Subsidizing, U.S., Wealthy nations
Wall Street Journal (May 21)
“Computer science is hotter than ever at U.S. universities. But students graduating this month are discovering their degrees are no longer a surefire ticket to tech-industry riches.” As tech giants slow expansion and embrace artificial intelligence, they “now have less need for entry-level hires—or are shedding jobs” so graduates “are finding it harder than they ever thought it would be to land a job.”
Tags: AI, Computer science, Entry-level hires, Expansion, Graduates, Students, Surefire, Tech industry, U.S., Universities
Forbes (May 19)
“The Biden administration said this week the U.S will quadruple tariffs on Chinese EVs in a move aimed at protecting American workers and businesses from unfair Chinese trade practices.” Some think this will provide a lifeline, but at least one auto industry executive believes “the increase won’t help the long-term staying power of the industry or its jobs.” Instead, the “capitulation to the status quo” will “condemn” the U.S. auto industry “to a slow but certain death” as the rest of the industry moves “toward technology that doesn’t rely on oil.”
Tags: Auto industry, Biden, Businesses, Capitulation, China, EVs, Lifeline, Protecting, Status quo, Staying power, Tariffs, Technology, Trade practices, U.S., Unfair, Workers
New York Times (May 14)
President Biden unveiled “a wave of new tariffs on billions of dollars in Chinese products, ramping up duties on industries like electric cars and solar energy that are core to his economic agenda.” The new duties cover roughly $18 billion of annual Chinese imports and are in addition to the $300 billion worth of Chinese imports already covered by existing tariffs. The new tariffs will “appeal to voters in battleground states,” but it’s unclear if they will be “enough to rebuild America’s industrial base in a global race with China to lead in the new economy.”
Tags: $18 billion, $300 billion, Battleground states, Biden, China, Duties, Economic agenda, EVs, Imports, Industrial base, Solar energy, Tariffs, U.S., Unveiled, Voters
