US Economy

Bannon Is Out, but Economic Nationalism Still Thrives at the White House

By Linette Lopez, Business Insider

Just because Steve Bannon is out of the White House, doesn't mean that his ideas are gone — especially when it comes to economics.
More Good News on Jobs Gives the Fed a Green Light to Start Unwinding

By Lucia Mutikani, Reuters

The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits fell to near a six-month low last week, pointing to a further tightening in the labor market that could encourage the Federal Reserve to lay...
The Walls Are Closing In as Allies Abandon Trump

By Rob Garver

Things have looked grim for Donald Trump’s future more than once in his relatively brief career as a politician. But on Wednesday, the cracks in the edifice of his public standing were really...
Household Debt in the US Just Hit an All-Time High

By Jonathan Spicer, Reuters

Americans' debt level notched another record high in the second quarter, after having earlier in the year surpassed its pre-crisis peak, on the back of modest rises in mortgage, auto and credit card...
Trump Is Headed for a Collision With the Auto Industry as NAFTA Talks Loom

By David Lawder, Reuters

The Trump administration has set a collision course with the auto industry as it launches renegotiations of the 23-year-old NAFTA trade pact this week, aiming to shrink a growing trade deficit with...

Here’s Why Trump Deserves Credit for the Stock Market Surge

By Liz Peek

As of Tuesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average had scored record highs for nine days in a row; the gains are driving anti-Trumpers crazy. Though the president’s boasts are not always accurate,...
Are You Rich? Tax Reform May Answer That Question for You

By YLAN Q. MUI, CNBC

Whether to raise taxes on the rich is one of the thorniest issues in tax reform. Underlying that debate is an even more fundamental question: Who exactly qualifies as wealthy? Everyone can agree that...
A New Report Shows Why The 10-Year Jobs Crisis Is Effectively Over

By Jacqueline Leo

A new report by the Hamilton Project at the Brookings Institution has good news: "With [yesterday's] employment report, we can report that the national jobs gap relative to November 2007 has closed (...
Is Wage Growth Finally Coming for American Workers?

By Jeff Cox, CNBC

Wage growth has been the missing link throughout a period that has produced more than 18.5 million new jobs, including 209,000 in July. But Amy Glaser, who helps run Adecco Staffing, believes the...
Trump May Be in a Legislative Slump, but His Energy Agenda Is Getting Lots of Hits

By Tom DiChristopher, CNBC

President Donald Trump may be fuming over Republicans' failure to repeal and replace Obamacare, but he can certainly take solace in the GOP's swift overhaul of the Obama administration's energy and...

Two counts tossed in Rajaratnam brother's insider trading trial

By Nate Raymond, Reuters

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A U.S. judge on Tuesday dismissed two securities fraud counts against Rengan Rajaratnam, the younger brother of Galleon Group founder Raj Rajaratnam, in a surprise development in...
Obama tells Cabinet to find areas open to executive action

By Reuters

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama told his Cabinet on Tuesday to look for areas where he might be able to govern by executive action given gridlock in Congress that is hampering his...
Are Calls for Income Redistribution Based on Envy or Justice?

By Mark Thoma

The redistribution of income and wealth has come to the forefront of discussions about economics and capitalist systems thanks to Thomas Piketty’s book Capital in the Twenty-First Century . Is rising...
U.S. birth control ruling fuels battle over corporate rights

By Lawrence Hurley, Reuters

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court has opened up a new front in the battle over corporate rights by ruling that family-owned and other closely held corporations can mount religious...
Americans Aren’t Buying Obama’s Improved Economy

By Reilly Dowd, The Fiscal Times

As consumer spending goes, so goes the U.S. economy. The problem is that while U.S. consumer confidence, along with personal incomes, is on the rise, consumer spending is barely growing. With roughly...

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