US Economic Policy

The so-called core consumer price index - which excludes food and energy costs - increased 0.3% for a fourth straight month, Bureau of Labor Statistics figures showed Wednesday

The Labour Department's closely watched employment report on Friday is also expected to show the unemployment rate remained below 4 per cent for the 28th straight month

For Mike Johnson it was effectively a Day 1 priority. It's well past time, the newly elected House speaker said in October, to establish a bipartisan commission to tackle the federal government's growing USD 34.6 trillion in debt. "The consequences if we don't act now are unbearable, he said, echoing warnings from his predecessor and other House Republicans. More than six months later, the proposal appears all but dead, extinguished by vocal opposition from both the right and the left. The collapse underscores an unyielding dynamic in Washington, with lawmakers in both parties loath to consider the unpopular tradeoffs that would be necessary to stem the nation's swelling tide of red ink particularly in an election year. Facing the reality that any fiscal commission would almost certainly suggest that Americans pay more or get less from their government, lawmakers have time and again done what they do so well: punt the problem to the next Congress. And they seem poised to do so ..

JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon says he's hopeful the Federal Reserve can bring down inflation without causing a recession but wouldn't rule out more troubling possibilities, such as stagflation. In an interview with The Associated Press at a Chase branch opening in The Bronx, Dimon said he remained cautious about the US economy and said inflation may be stickier for longer and that stagflation is on the list of possible things that could happen to the US economy. You should be worried about (the possibility of stagflation), Dimon said. Dimon did emphasise that he's still hopeful for the US economy to experience a soft landing, where growth slows but the economy avoids a recession even if inflation remains a little high, but he's not certain that is the most likely outcome. I'm just a little more dubious than others that a (soft landing) is a given, he said. The Fed rapidly raised interest rates in 2022 and 2023 after inflation reached the highest level in four decades. Fed officia

The House accomplished something unusual Wednesday in passing with broad, bipartisan support a roughly USD 79 billion tax cut package that would enhance the child tax credit for millions of lower-income families and boost three tax breaks for businesses, a combination that gives lawmakers on both sides of the political aisle coveted policy wins. Prospects for the measure becoming law are uncertain with the Senate still having to take it up, but for a House that has struggled to get bills of consequence over the finish line, the tax legislation could represent a rare breakthrough. The bill passed by a vote of 357-70. Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., threw his support behind the bill on Wednesday morning. He spent part of the previous day meeting with GOP lawmakers who were concerned about particular features of the bill, namely the expanded child tax credit. Some were also unhappy that it failed to address the $10,000 cap on the total amount of property taxes or state or local taxes that

The nation's economy was supposed to have sunk into recession by now, dragged down by the highest interest rates in two decades and a resulting slump in borrowing and spending. Instead, the US economy has kept chugging along. Even more encouraging, inflation, which touched a four-decade high in 2022, has edged steadily lower without the painful layoffs that most economists had thought would be necessary to slow the acceleration of prices. On Thursday, the Commerce Department is expected to report that the nation's gross domestic product the economy's total output of goods and services rose at an annual rate of around 2 per cent from October through December. That would mark a deceleration from a vigorous 4.9 per cent growth rate in the July-September quarter. But it would still showcase the surprising durability of the world's largest economy, marking the sixth straight quarter in which GDP has expanded at a solid annual pace of 2 per cent or more. Helping fuel that growth has bee

While the Fed wants to guard against a re-acceleration of inflation, a further softening of price pressures risks making policy even more restrictive

'Technology' mentioned 44 times in the joint statement, up from five in 2020

President Joe Biden says he feels good about the debt ceiling and budget deal negotiated with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy as the White House and congressional leaders work to ensure its passage this week in time to lift the nation's borrowing limit and prevent a disastrous U.S. default. Biden spent part of the Memorial Day holiday working the phones, calling lawmakers in both parties, as the president does his part to deliver the votes. A number of hard right conservatives are criticizing the deal as falling short of the deep spending cuts they wanted, while liberals decry policy changes such as new work requirements for older Americans in the food aid program. A key test will come Tuesday afternoon when the House Rules Committee is scheduled to consider the package and vote on sending it to the full House for a vote expected Wednesday. I feel very good about it," Biden told reporters Monday as he left Washington for his home in Delaware. I've spoken to a number of the members, he

The author, citing officials, said that Biden seeks another meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping to follow up on their confab last November in Bali, Indonesia

The SVB collapse has alerted hundreds of Indian investment and tech companies. They came together to help each other and share knowledge to deal with the impact

In the hours after some of Silicon Valley Bank's biggest customers started pulling out their money, a WhatsApp group of startup founders who are immigrants of colour ballooned to more than 1,000 members. Questions flowed as the bank's financial status worsened. Some desperately sought advice: Could they open an account at a larger bank without a Social Security Number? Others questioned whether they had to physically be at a bank to open an account, because they're visiting parents overseas. One clear theme emerged: a deep concern about the broader impact on startups led by people of colour. While Wall Street struggles to contain the banking crisis after the swift demise of SVB the nation's 16th largest bank and the biggest to fail since the 2008 financial meltdown industry experts predict it could become even harder for people of colour to secure funding or a financial home supporting their startups. SVB had opened its doors to such entrepreneurs, offering opportunities to form

Expectations of further rate hikes in the world's largest economy and in Europe have clouded the global growth outlook and driven both crude benchmarks down more than 5% so far this week

US central bank sees more rate hikes in 2022 and 2023, says there is need to limit inflation hit for families.

The move, announced by the White House on Monday, rewards Powell for helping rescue the US economy from the pandemic

Democratic Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez described it in a video posted on social media as "one of the worst, lowest quality speeches" she had ever seen.

Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives were pushing ahead on Thursday with a vote on President Joe Biden's $1.75 trillion domestic spending bill, after a lengthy wait on a Congressional Budget

The House voted 220-211 to approve the rule for debating the measure, clearing the way for a vote on passage later in the night. No Republicans supported the move.

The issue is whether spending about $600 billion on a one-time tax credit that would be worth $8,000 to a family of four and reach more than 85 percent of taxpayers makes good economic sense

President Donald Trump plans to deliver his State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress on Tuesday