The U.S.-China trade war started in January 2018 with Trump’s announcement of tariffs on solar panels and appliances that applied broadly, but were mostly aimed at China. It escalated quickly from there with China announcing retaliatory tariffs and Trump doubling down with more tariffs on Chinese steel and electronics. China escalated again and the
Fed Chair Jay Powell did not deliver any early Christmas presents to the markets last month, but he did pop the cork on a bottle of Champagne as a belated New Year’s gift on Friday, Jan. 4. With just a few words, Powell sent the most powerful signal from the Fed since March 2015. Investors
The attempt by the U.S. intelligence community to depose Trump led by James Comey (FBI), John Brennan (CIA) and James Clapper (director of national intelligence) is well-known by now. These officials used a flawed and unverified “dossier” paid for by Hillary Clinton to get a warrant to spy on a low-level official in the Trump
The 2020 presidential election race is now in full swing, even though it’s still early in 2019. Presidential races seem to get longer every four years. Now we’re at the point where the next race begins when the votes in the midterm election are barely counted. If you’re a political junkie (I’m not), this
The U.S. economy is facing head winds from many sources. These head winds include currency wars, trade wars, higher interest rates, tighter money supply and excessive debt. The results are appearing in a declining rate of GDP growth. U.S. annual GDP growth was 4.2% in the second quarter of 2018, 3.4% in the third quarter
This article reports that Americans in their 40s and 50s are devoting more of their discretionary income to paying off debt rather than savings or investments for retirement. Economically, this makes good sense. Paying down debt is the same as investing; you’re giving up one asset (cash) in exchange for eliminating one liability (the debt) with no
The U.S. was in a serious financial and cyberwar with Iran in 2012 and 2013. The U.S. and Israel were giving consideration to military attacks on Iran in order to disable Iran’s uranium enrichment program. At the end of 2013, President Obama reached a truce in exchange for Iran entering into negotiations on their
The case for a pending financial collapse is well grounded. Financial crises occur on a regular basis including 1987, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2007-08. That averages out to about once every five years for the past thirty years. There has not been a financial crisis for ten years so the world is overdue. It’s also the
On any given day, it’s easy to find a stock bull and a stock bear ready to fight it out with conflicting advice and opinions. The bull points to stronger growth in the U.S. in 2018, stimulus from tax cuts, tight labor markets, low interest rates and high consumer confidence as evidence that all
The U.S.-China trade war has been out of the headlines lately as the two sides pursue private negotiations against a March 1 deadline for new higher U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods. That’s about to change, according to this article. The stock market rally last Friday was widely attributed to dovish talk from Fed Chair Jay
