The wealthiest one percent of Americans now account for 56% the value of equities owned by U.S. households, the Financial Times reports.
Job Creation Slowed Under Trump
Newly revised figures from Trump’s own Department of Labor show that 6.6 million new jobs were created in the first 36 months of Trump’s tenure, compared with 8.1 million in the final 36 months of Obama’s ― a decline of 19% under Trump, according to a HuffPost analysis.
Economy Is Everything Trump Could Hope For
New York Times: “There was never much doubt that President Trump would make boasts about the economy central to his re-election campaign; that is his style, after all. What is becoming more clear is that the data on the economy are giving him something genuinely worth boasting about.”
“The big headline out of the latest numbers was that employers added 225,000 jobs in January, comfortably more than analysts had expected. That alone suggests that economic growth is steady at a minimum, and maybe accelerating as the year begins.”
The Economic Threat of Coronavirus
“The coronavirus has the potential to be as damaging to the global economy as the U.S.-China trade war, economists tell Axios, and if not contained could wreak havoc on businesses across the globe, with great uncertainty over how bad things could get.”
“The epicenter of the virus is China, which is now the world’s top trading nation and largest commodity buyer, and the no. 1 trading partner for many of the world’s biggest economies, including Germany and Japan, which both are suffering already from anemic growth.”
New York Times: “The Wuhan coronavirus spreading from China is now likely to become a pandemic that circles the globe.”
Farm Bankruptcies Hit 8-Year High
“U.S. farm bankruptcy rates jumped 20% in 2019 – to an eight-year high – as financial woes in the U.S. agricultural economy continued in spite of massive federal bail-out funding,” Reuters reports.
Americans Feel Good About Economy, Not Country
A new CBS News poll finds 75% of U.S. adults say the economy is in good shape, the highest in almost 20 years.
“Still, when asked about the state of the union today, views are mostly negative. Fifty-six percent of Americans say things are fair or bad, while 44% say great or good. Opinions divide starkly along partisan lines. Most Republicans say the state of the country is great or good, while most Democrats say it’s fair or bad.”
Trump’s Super Bowl Ad Lauds the Economy
USA Today: “The spot – texted to Trump supporters by the campaign on Thursday – features a narrator and news reports discussing wage growth, job increases, and record low levels of unemployment for African-Americans and Hispanics. The commercial ends with Trump at one of his political rallies proclaiming: ‘And ladies and gentlemen, the best is yet to come.'”
U.S. Economy Slows
“The U.S. economy grew at its slowest pace since 2016 last year, after posting a 2.1% advance in the fourth quarter,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
Our Economic Boom Is a Mirage
Steve Pearlstein: “In the modern era, there are few if any examples of a country with a healthy, thriving economy and a broken political system. What distinguishes a successful economy from a failing one — what distinguishes Denmark from Italy and South Korea from North — is not how much capital it has or technology it produces but the quality of its institutions — the laws, rules, norms and policies that create the framework in which any economy operates. And there should be no doubt that as a result of broken politics, the quality of the United States’ institutions is already on the decline.”
Trump Blames Fed for Slower Growth
President Trump told CNBC that the U.S. economy’s GDP growth would have been closer to 4% if it weren’t for the lingering effect of Federal Reserve rate hikes.
Trump Takes Victory Lap at Davos
President Trump trumpeted what he called “America’s extraordinary prosperity” on his watch, taking credit for a soaring stock market, low unemployment and a “blue collar boom” in jobs and income, in a presidential turn on the world stage also meant to make impeachment proceedings in Washington look small, the Washington Post reports.
Said Trump: “America is thriving; America is flourishing and yes, America is winning again like never before.”
Trump Signs Trade Pact with China
“The U.S. and China signed a landmark deal to sharply increase sales of U.S. goods and services to China and help companies operating in China by better protecting their intellectual property and opening further Chinese markets, especially in financial services,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“The eight-part agreement acts as a cease-fire in a two-year trade war that has roiled markets globally and cut into global growth. As a condition of Beijing signing the deal, the U.S. agreed to cut tariffs on $120 billion in Chinese goods by half to 7.5% and to forgo other planned tariffs. A host of difficult issues, which have been the heart of the trade battle, including Chinese subsidies to domestic companies and the behavior of Chinese state-owned firms were pushed off to later rounds of talks.”
CNBC: “The Trump administration aims to start negotiating the next piece of the trade agreement before the November 2020 election.”
Trump Country’s Love Affair with Chinese Investment
Nikkea Asian Review: “With a ‘phase one’ trade deal due to be signed on Jan. 15, the Trump administration has signaled a tentative and limited rapprochement in its trade war with China, which saw high tariffs placed on Chinese imports and bans on the export of technology products. However, despite those punitive measures and the aggressive messaging coming out of the White House, many of the states and counties that came out for Trump in 2016 have spent the past few years gorging on Chinese money.”
“Their reliance on investment from China only serves to underline how deeply intertwined the world’s two largest economies are, and how the president’s desire to unwind decades of trade imbalances could put him at odds with his own base as he seeks reelection this November.”
Manufacturing Activity Hits 10-Year Low
The Institute of Supply Management’s index of manufacturing activity hit its lowest level since the end of the Great Recession, Axios reports.
“It shows worsening conditions for the U.S. manufacturing sector, which has been in contraction for five straight months, and reignites concerns about the trade war’s impact on the economy.”
World’s Richest Got Even Richer In 2019
The world’s richest 500 people increased their collective wealth by 25% in 2019 ― a stark reminder of worsening income inequality, particularly in the U.S., the HuffPost reports.
Trump Tariffs Backfired
A new Federal Reserve study finds President Trump’s tariffs on imports — intended to boost the economy and protect jobs — ultimately led to job losses and higher prices for consumers.
Economy Gets Best Marks In Two Decades
A new CNN poll finds the U.S. economy earns its highest ratings in almost two decades, potentially boosting President Trump in matchups against the Democrats vying to face him in next year’s election.
“Overall, 76% rate economic conditions in the U.S. today as very or somewhat good, significantly more than those who said so at this time last year (67%). This is the highest share to say the economy is good since February 2001, when 80% said so.”
The match ups: Joe Biden leads Trump nationally 49% to 44%, while Bernie Sanders tops Trump 49% to 45%. Elizabeth Warren and Pete Buttigieg each run about even with the president.
Fears of Recession Fade
Washington Post: “The U.S. economy is heading into 2020 at a pace of steady, sustained growth after a series of interest rate cuts and the apparent resolution of two trade-related threats mostly eliminated the risk of a recession. This marks a dramatic turnaround in momentum since August, when some forecasters predicted a 50 percent chance of a downturn starting by the end of next year.”
Key takeaway: “The trade deals, while not nearly as ambitious as Trump promised, have lessened one of the biggest drags on the U.S. economy: uncertainty.”
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