In one of his first executive orders, President Trump has promised to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Since the signing of NAFTA in 1994, trade among the member countries has increased significantly and North American supply chains now sprawl across Canada, Mexico, and the U.S. The stakes of a renegotiation are high, but the opportunity for the U.S. to strike a better deal is significant. Donald Trump has put “renegotiating” the two-decades-old North American Free Trade Agreement between the US, Canada and Mexico at the top of his economic agenda and threatened to … [Read more...]
A Major Apple Supplier Plans Massive U.S. Expansion
The creation of 30,000 to 50,000 good paying jobs may be just over the horizon. The Wall Street Journal lays out the plan. BEIJING—Electronics manufacturer Foxconn Technology Group is considering investing $7 billion to build a flat-panel screen factory in the U.S., but the company founder says incentives will be needed to make the deal happen. Speaking at a Foxconn company event in Taiwan on Sunday, founder and chairman Terry Gou said the factory could create 30,000 to 50,000 jobs in the U.S., and discussions were already under way with state and local officials in Pennsylvania and other … [Read more...]
This is the Blue Print to Make America’s Financial Economy Great Again
Trump’s victory offers an opportunity to finally enact some of the reforms needed to rein in the Fed and put a stop to the Fed’s incestuous relationship with the academic economic establishment. Here, Danielle DiMartino Booth, a former advisor to the president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, calls out some of the problems (there are many more) with the Fed and solutions to improve the institution. The first thing an engaged Congress can do is prevent future missteps on the Fed’s part. In November 1977, the Federal Reserve Act was revised to expand the central bank's mandate to … [Read more...]
Trump is Going to Make 2017 an Interesting Year
Love him or hate him, Trump was undeniably an unconventional candidate for President and he promises to be an unconventional President. Unlike many in Washington, he doesn’t seem concerned with poll testing everything that he says. He speaks….err tweets his mind. Supporters view that as a refreshing change, while critics consider it a cavalier approach to governing. What about markets? Before Trump has even taken office, he’s had a major impact on markets. As you know, stocks have rallied strongly on the prospect of faster growth, lower taxes, and less onerous … [Read more...]
What is the Auto Market Forecasting about the Economy
Despite the positive signal that the Trump rally in the stock market is sending about the state of the U.S. economy, the auto market is adamant that we are in the winter stage of the economic expansion. Pro-growth policies from the incoming administration have the potential to prolong the expansion, but General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler are taking an, "I'll believe it when I see it" approach to growth. The WSJ reports that the Big Three have scheduled down-time at their factories of as much as three weeks in January to clear inventories resulting from cooling demand and shifting consumer … [Read more...]
New Rate Boost by Bumbling Fed Still Asleep at the Wheel
Are you shocked? You shouldn’t be. The Fed’s mini-quarter of a point increase in interest rates yesterday was long-overdue—we’ve been saying so for years (read here, here, here,and here)—and the three more increases expected for next year fall well short of our 4% target. Why? Because the 90-day Treasury needs to get to 4% and it needs to get there pronto, plain and simple. The North Star, as Dick Young refers to the T-Bill, which has been lost in the night sky for years now, is beginning to flicker (see the big jump in rates on the chart below). It’s been a long-cold winter. Retirees … [Read more...]
This State is Open for Business, Here’s Why
You shouldn’t have to join a union if you don’t want to. But that’s exactly what happens to teachers in states that don’t have right-to-work laws. A friend on mine who is a history teacher in non-right-to-work Boston, Massachusetts complains about the dues automatically deducted from his paycheck. He has stood up in meetings to complain about the lack of freedom. When Becky and I see him and his wife on Friday in Boston, I’ll tell him that there’s still hope. Teachers in Wisconsin, thanks to Governor Scott Walker’s reforms, have a choice whether to join or not. They have voted with their … [Read more...]
Consumer Spending Fuels Excellent 3rd Q U.S. Expansion
The Wall Street Journal provides an in depth peek at a first rate-third quarter. Corporate profits continued to rebound last quarter alongside solid growth in the broader U.S. economy. A key measure of after-tax earnings across U.S. corporations rose 5.2% in the third quarter from a year earlier, the Commerce Department reported Tuesday. That was the first annual increase since late 2014 and the strongest year-over-year growth since the fourth quarter of 2012. Profit gains were reflected among large U.S. companies in most industry sectors as healthy consumer spending and other forces … [Read more...]
America’s Relentless Expansion of Entitlements
The Trump administration must put the breaks on the frightening explosion of entitlements. The Cato Institute’s Dan Mitchell lays out what is ticking time bomb for America: [T]he federal government is spending more today on defense than it was back in the 1960s, even after adjusting for inflation. And outlays for "domestic discretionary" programs also have increased. But what's obviously driving fiscal policy is the relentless expansion of entitlements (referred to as "mandatory spending" for purposes of the Budget Enforcement Act). And because of demographic changes and bad policy … [Read more...]
Who are the Stock Market Winners of the Election?
It has only been 10 days since the presidential election, but the equity markets have moved markedly on a change in outlook. A Trump victory and a Republican sweep in congress has created some winners and losers--at least in the short-run. With big moves in markets ahead of any concrete policy actions, this could be a case of the stock market jumping the gun. Below is a graphic that shows the performance of the 11 S&P 500 sectors since the presidential election. The big winners are financials, followed by industrials, discretionary stocks and healthcare shares. The losers: utilities, … [Read more...]
- « Previous Page
- 1
- …
- 52
- 53
- 54
- 55
- 56
- …
- 96
- Next Page »