Everyone loves to talk about the unrelenting strength of the US dollar these days. Experts say it’s fueling the problems of emerging markets like Argentina and Turkey, while Donald Trump complains that it’s hurting his country’s competitive advantage. Worse yet, the story goes, the Federal Reserve’s impending rate hikes will likely invigorate the dollar even more.
When it comes to economic policy, Donald Trump has a split personality. In 2017, he passed huge tax cuts—typical behavior for a Republican president. In 2018, however, he’s invested his energy in waging trade wars on China and other nations, with the stated goal of protecting American industry. It’s a nationalist mission far outside the bounds of typical GOP priorities.
We all know it’s good to hydrate. Water can be so blah though. So when I’m trying to rehydrate after a long run in the summer heat, I tend to reach for an old-timey solution: The energy drink of ancient Rome.
In 1953, Don Barksdale became the first African-American named to the National Basketball Association All-Star team. That same year, Leontyne Price’s performance of “Summertime” at a Metropolitan Opera gala made her the first African-American to sing with the famed New York company. It was also the year that James Baldwin published Go Tell It on the Mountain.
First Argentina. Now Turkey. The next country to face a financial crisis could be any one of a slew of emerging-market economies that have grown dangerously dependent on borrowing in dollars and other foreign currencies.
Keeping contact lenses for too long can cause all kinds of eye problems—infections, ulcers and, in extreme cases, a run-in with eyeball-eating amoebas.
Classic economic theory holds that when the value of a country’s currency falls, its economy should expand. So relax, Turkey. The lira’s 40% plunge against the dollar since the beginning of this year? It should be a sign of impending growth.
Donald Trump’s tariffs on China are controversial. What isn’t is his rationale: that China is “cheating” with trade and industrial policies that put US companies at an unfair disadvantage.
Long and feeble though the US economic recovery has been, good times would seem to finally be here.The economy grew at the zippy clip of 4.1% last quarter. And just-published employment data show that only 3.9% of the American workforce is unemployed, suggesting there are jobs aplenty.
It’s been almost a month since the US-China trade war began in earnest. On July 6, Donald Trump’s 25% tariffs on $34 billion worth of Chinese goods went into effect—followed immediately by China’s 25% levy on $34 billion worth of US-made products.
After months of threatening a trade war with the European Union, Donald Trump abruptly reversed himself. Following his meeting on Wednesday (July 25) with European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker, Trump hailed a vague deal for liberalizing trade and proclaimed transatlantic love.
Boom! The US economy grew 4.1% in the second quarter of this year, the fastest pace of growth since late 2014. In the first quarter of 2018 growth was 2.2%, a bit stronger than initially estimated by the US commerce department.
Today (July 25) Donald Trump is sitting down for what’s sure to be an interesting chat with Jean-Claude Juncker, who heads up the legislative commission of the European Union—the US president’s favorite punching bag of late.
Donald Trump’s trade war has only just begun, and it’s already hurting American farmers. Prices on top exports like pork and soybeans have tanked as a slew of countries hit back against US tariffs by hiking duties on American agricultural exports.
Last week, Donald Trump broke with presidential norms and chided the Federal Reserve for raising rates. The US president argued that rising rates were inflating the value of the dollar and, hence, hurting US competitiveness.
Russia is a nuclear power. But an economic power it is not. Last year, the country’s GDP totaled around $1.6 trillion, less than that of the state of Texas. Nor is its wealth growing: Russia’s GDP in 2017 was smaller than it was in 2013, adjusting for price changes.
Representatives from Walmart, General Motors, IBM, Microsoft, and some of the US’s biggest companies (and one of Taiwan’s) gathered at the White House yesterday (July 19) to sign a pledge to “America’s workers” about committing to training for new jobs.
As Donald Trump continues to escalate his slap-happy approach to tariffs on Chinese goods, China is running out of US goods on which to to levy duties in retaliation. But if China wants to keep going tit-for-tat, it has other options.
In late May 2008, across the state of Iowa, something weird started happening to newborns. For the next nine or so months, more babies across the state were born underweight, compared to the same period of previous years.
Donald Trump announced last night (July 9) that Brett Kavanaugh is his pick for the open seat on the apex of America’s judiciary, the Supreme Court. Liberals, of course, fear the potential impact of the new nominee’s conservative track record. More morbidly, many also bemoan his youth: Kavanaugh turned 53 in February, which means that he could influence the future of the American legal system for a good long while. If confirmed, Kavanaugh will join the even springier of SCOTUS spring chickens, 50-year-old Neil Gorsuch, whom Trump appointed in February 2017.
Donald Trump famously contends that trade wars are easy to win. But they’re certainly not easy to start.
Donald Trump loves to hate on the US-China trade deficit. Ironically, these days that deficit proving to be a source of tactical strength.
Big business just keeps getting bigger. And the US government’s de facto green-lighting of AT&T’s purchase of Time Warner last week is a sign of more corporate engorgement to come.
After a relatively tranquil month in US-China relations, the two nations are going tit for tat with tariff threats once again.
