“Growth slowed but remained resilient at the end of 2024, leaving the U.S. economy on solid footing heading into a new year — and a new presidential administration — that is full of uncertainty,” the New York Times reports.

“U.S. gross domestic product, adjusted for inflation, grew at a 2.3% annual rate in the fourth quarter of last year, the Commerce Department reported on Thursday. That was down from the 3.1% growth rate in the third quarter but nonetheless represented an encouraging end to a year in which the economy once again defied expectations.”

Washington Post: “The union membership rate dropped by one-tenth of a percentage point to a new low of 9.9 percent last year, the Labor Department said Tuesday, while the total number of union members in the United States barely budged last year, with a loss of roughly 100,000 members. About 14.3 million workers were in unions in 2024, according to the Labor Department.”

“The decrease in the union membership rate happened in part because a solid labor market added 2.2 million jobs in 2024, with nonunion positions growing at a faster pace than union ones.”

Benjamin Wallace-Wells: “Robert Lighthizer, the former U.S. Trade Representative, lost his bid to rejoin the White House, but he still believes the President’s protectionist instincts can jump-start American manufacturing.”

Fox News: “Some estimations indicate the average price of a dozen large eggs could be nearly $5 by the end of 2025, which would be the highest-ever recorded average price for a dozen eggs… The price of eggs in California has reached nearly $9 per dozen in some areas.”

“One of the largest reasons for the increase is the recent bird flu outbreak.”

Business and academic economists surveyed by the Wall Street Journal have lifted their forecasts for inflation and interest rates over the coming years.

JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon said the looming tariffs that President Trump is expected to slap on U.S. trading partners could be viewed positively, NBC News reports.

Said Dimon: “If it’s a little inflationary, but it’s good for national security, so be it. I mean, get over it. National security trumps a little bit more inflation.”

White House trade counselor Peter Navarro said President Trump “laid out an ambitious trade agenda Monday night that paves the way for tariffs on a number of fronts,” Politico reports.

Said Navarro: “I think you could call it the blueprint and the foundation for the tariffs and trade policies that may or may not emerge over the next 100 days. You’ve got discussions about the universal baseline tariff. You’ve got discussions about the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, which needs to be reviewed in 2026.”

“President Trump is using the threat of imposing stiff tariffs on goods from Canada and Mexico as soon as next week to pressure the two nations to start renegotiating a continental trade deal,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

“Trump is particularly focused on using the threat of tariffs to change automotive rules under the continental trade pact, forcing car plants to move from Canada and Mexico back to the U.S.”

“President Trump is poised to embark on an economic experiment that has never been tested as he prepares to carry out an agenda of tax cuts and tariff increases while interest rates are high and prices remain elevated,” the New York Times reports.

“As he resumed the presidency on Monday afternoon, Mr. Trump has pledged to move quickly to enact universal tariffs, cut regulations that will increase domestic energy production and push Congress to pass another round of tax cuts.”

“Billionaire wealth surged in 2024, as the world’s richest people increasingly benefited from inheritance and powerful connections, Oxfam said Monday in its annual inequality report,” NBC News reports.

“The combined wealth of the world’s most wealthy rose from $13 trillion to $15 trillion in just 12 months, the global charity said Sunday. It marks the second-largest annual increase in billionaire wealth since Oxfam records started.”

Key takeaway: “Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla and a close ally of Trump, is on track to become the world’s first trillionaire by 2027.”

“Economists are starting to model the effects of President-elect Donald Trump’s plans to raise tariffs, cut taxes and restrict immigration,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

“The upshot: Inflation and interest rates are likely to be higher for at least the next two years than forecasters anticipated before the election.”

Less than half of Americans expect Donald Trump will lower the price of groceries, housing and health care, according to a new AP-NORC poll.

Paul Krugman: “Patriotism is still, I guess, the last refuge of scoundrels. But for the past 45 years or so — ever since Reagan — economic growth has come a close second. The left isn’t completely free from this nonsense, but mostly what we see are right-wing politicians justifying cruel and/or irresponsible policies — massive tax cuts for the rich, harsh treatment of the poor and working class — with the claim that all will be well because these policies will unleash rapid economic growth.”

“Donald Trump has brought his own brand of nonsense, with claims that tariffs can make foreigners pay for everything. But the old voodoo is still very much part of the mix.”

Scott Bessent, President-elect Trump’s Treasury secretary nominee, said Thursday that he would not support raising the minimum wage, The Hill reports.

Paul Krugman: “Even though he will take office in just a few days, we have almost no idea.”

“That’s not because the Trump team is keeping its plans closely held, nor is it because there are major factional fights. All the evidence suggests, instead, that Trump’s economic team still doesn’t have any plans, or even concepts of plans. All it has are some half-formulated thoughts about how to cater to Trump’s prejudices without doing massive economic damage.”

“The dollar fell against almost every major currency after Bloomberg News reported that Donald Trump’s incoming economic team is considering gradual hikes in tariffs,” Bloomberg reports.