Category: Macroeconomic

September 7, 2021

In the evenly divided Senate, Democrat Joe Manchin of West Virginia has made it clear, in writing, that he does not support the $3.5-trillion reconciliation bill, which contains massive new entitlement programs long favored by Democrats. But Ron Klain, President […]

August 26, 2021

HINTING AT TAPERING A slew of hot labor market reports and inflation rate readings have set the stage for a more hawkish Federal Reserve in the coming months. FOMC policymakers seem to concur, insofar as the tone of commentary over […]

August 17, 2021

Crude oil prices extended lower during Tuesday’s APAC mid-day session, marking a four-day decline of 2.90%. Lingering viral concerns and poorer-than-expected US and Chinese data dampened the prospects of global energy demand, pulling oil prices down from July’s peak. US […]

August 3, 2021

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), chairman of the Budget Committee, said he expects the bipartisan infrastructure bill to pass the Senate by the end of the week, and “then we will immediately turn to what we call the reconciliation bill, a […]

July 13, 2021

Are the Democrats headed for their Little Bighorn, with President Joe Biden as Col. Custer? The wish, you suggest, is father to the thought. Yet, consider. On taking office, Biden held a winning hand. Three vaccines, with excellent efficacy rates, […]

July 6, 2021

Oregon Gov. Kate Brown, a Democrat, says the Federal Emergency Management Agency should provide aid and assistance to undocumented families who lose their homes in wildfires. Brown was among the Western governors who joined a conference call with President Biden […]

July 2, 2021

Total nonfarm payroll rose by 850,000 in June, the strongest number of the year so far, and well above the 583,000 (revised) jobs added in May. The 850,000 jobs added exceeds analysts’ estimates, which ran as high as 700,000 for […]

June 28, 2021

Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), a pivotal vote in the evenly divided Senate, on Sunday described himself as a “fiscally responsible and socially compassionate” man who wants to find middle ground with both sides. He’s plugging both a bipartisan physical infrastructure […]

June 25, 2021

“Today is a huge day for one-half of my economic agenda, the American Jobs Plan,” President Joe Biden told a news conference after announcing that he’s agreed to a bipartisan deal on physical infrastructure. But Biden said he’s not forgetting […]

June 14, 2021

When asked when Congress would balance the budget given that President Biden’s budget plan racks up $14.5 trillion in cumulative deficits over the next 10 years, Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.) said, for now, the focus should be on growing the […]

June 9, 2021

Although President Biden’s budget proposal would create $14.5 trillion in federal deficits over the next 10 years, Sen. Roger Marshall (R-Kansas) said his goal is to balance the budget and that it could be done within 10 years. At the […]

April 21, 2021

More and more strategists believe investors are underestimating the outlook for consumer prices. David Roche, president of investment firm Independent Strategy, is among them. He told CNBC on Wednesday that the U.S. inflation rate, which stood at 2.6% in March […]

April 7, 2021

Jamie Dimon is bullish on the U.S. economy – at least for the next few years. In his annual shareholder letter, the long-time JPMorgan Chase chairman and CEO said he sees strong growth for the world’s biggest economy, thanks to […]

April 5, 2021

President Joe Biden said Monday he is not worried that a plan to increase corporate America’s tax bill would dampen the U.S. economy as it emerges from the Covid-19 pandemic. Asked whether he is concerned that the White House plan […]

April 2, 2021

As more cities and states reopen, the number of jobs created and the number of employed Americans continues to substantially increase. In March, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the economy added a whopping 916,000 jobs, compared with +468,000 […]

March 25, 2021

Powerful fiscal help from Congress combined with accelerated vaccine distribution has allowed the U.S. economy to recover faster than expected, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said Thursday. At some point, that will allow the central bank to dial back the […]

March 17, 2021

The Federal Reserve on Wednesday dialed up its economic growth expectations but signaled that there are no expected interest rate hikes for the next two years. The so-called dot-plot projections budged little, with most members still expecting to keep rates […]

March 3, 2021

LONDON — British Finance Minister Rishi Sunak announced Wednesday that U.K. corporation tax will increase to 25% in April 2023 as the government looks to restore public finances in the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic. In his Budget statement Wednesday, […]

February 25, 2021

Jobless claims fell sharply last week despite severe winter storms that swept across Texas and other parts of the South, the Labor Department reported Thursday. First-time filings for unemployment insurance totaled 730,000 for the week ended Feb. 20, well below […]

January 21, 2021

What big banks reveal about the economy America’s biggest banks have all now released their financial results for the past year, data that reflect the strange economic situation facing President Biden and his new administration. Parts of the economy are […]