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Washington -- Ex-Japanese prime minister Taro Aso has met former president Donald Trump and both the leaders discussed the enduring importance of the US-Japan alliance to their physical and economic security in the strategic Indo-Pacific region. Aso, vice president of Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party, met Trump on Tuesday at the Trump Tower in Manhattan. Both the leaders discussed the enduring importance of the US-Japan alliance to both countries’ physical and economic security and stability in the Indo-Pacific, according to a statement issued by the Trump Campaign on the meeting with the 83-year-old visiting Japanese leader. “They also discussed challenges...

U.S. regulators have seized Republic First Bancorp and agreed to sell it to Fulton Bank, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp said on Friday, underscoring the challenges facing regional banks a year after the collapse of three peers. The Philadelphia-based bank, which had abandoned funding talks with a group of investors, was seized by the Pennsylvania Department of Banking and Securities. The FDIC, appointed as a receiver, said Fulton Bank, a unit of Fulton Financial Corp, will assume substantially all deposits and purchase all the assets of Republic Bank to "protect depositors". Republic Bank had about $6 billion in total assets...

The Biden administration on Thursday placed the final cornerstone of its plan to tackle climate change: a regulation that would force the nation’s coal-fired power plants to virtually eliminate the planet-warming pollution they release into the air or shut down. The regulation from the Environmental Protection Agency requires coal plants in the United States to reduce 90% of their greenhouse pollution by 2039, one year earlier than the agency had initially proposed. The compressed timeline was welcomed by climate activists but condemned by coal executives who said the new standards would be impossible to meet... Taken together, the regulations could...

Ford announced Wednesday losses of $1.32 billion on its Ford Model-e sector, which represents the company’s electric vehicle business. With 10,000 units sold, the company lost $132,000 on each EV it sold. In the fourth quarter of 2023, the company sold 34,000 units in its Model-e business, which produced $1.57 billion in losses, or roughly $46,176 on each EV sold. “The company expects EV costs to improve going forward, but be offset by top-line pressure,” the company said in a press release. The company’s other sectors, which includes its Ford Pro fleet business and Ford Blue gas-powered and hybrid vehicle...

resident Biden's latest proposal to hike the top capital gains tax rate to its highest level in more than a century is facing heavy criticism from experts who warn such an action could significantly harm the U.S. economy. According to a report issued by the Treasury Department, led by Secretary Janet Yellen, the president's proposed fiscal year 2025 budget would increase the top marginal rate on long-term capital gains and qualified dividends to a staggering 44.6%. A capital gains tax hike of that magnitude would take the rate to its highest level since it was first introduced in the early...

The proposal, released last month, notes that the administration wants to increase the top marginal rate on long-term capital gains dividends up to 44.6 percent, which would make the tax rate exceed 50 percent in states like California, New Jersey, New York and others. Two separate proposals would need to pass in the final 2025 budget for the 44.6 percent figure to come to fruition. 'Biden has proposed adding a second Death Tax (separate from and in addition to the existing Death Tax) by taking away stepped-up basis when parents die. This would result in a mandatory capital gains tax...

Breitbart economics editor John Carney said Thursday on Fox Business Network’s “Kudlow” that President Joe Biden is implementing regulations that were crushing the economy. Carney said, “When you add on giant regulatory burdens onto the private sector what you end up doing is crushing the ability of businesses to grow, crushing the ability of businesses to hire people, crushing people to start new businesses. That is what happened under Obama when it was just 1/5 of what Biden has done. Biden this is just the track record so far, imagine what he will do when he is a lame duck...

The US economy grew at a slower pace than expected in the first quarter. The Bureau of Economic Analysis's advance estimate of first quarter US gross domestic product (GDP) showed the economy grew at an annualized pace of 1.6% during the period. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg estimated the US economy grew at an annualized pace of 2.5% during the period. The reading came in significantly lower than fourth quarter GDP, which was revised up to 3.4%. The softer-than expected print is a sign that the Federal Reserve's historic interest rate hikes are putting pressure on consumers and the economy. Investors...

Meantime the central bank seeks to palm off on the public the idea that its staggering negative capital is a ‘deferred asset.’ Hold up your hand if you think that the aggregate losses of an organization are an asset of that organization. No hands at all? Absolutely right. Losses are not an asset. That’s accounting 101. Yet the greatest central bank in the world, the Federal Reserve, insists on claiming that its continuing losses, which have accumulated to the staggering sum of $164 billion, are an accounting asset. The Fed seeks to palm off this accounting entry as a “Deferred...

Manufacturer’s Durable Goods New Orders growth peaked in April 2021, thanks in part to M2 Money Growth peaking in February 2021. And its been all downhill since then. Preliminary March data showed a slightly better than expected 2.6% MoM rise (2.5% exp) in the headline orders print. However, thanks to the downward revisions, Durable goods orders are now down 2.2% YoY… the biggest YoY drop since the COVID lockdowns… Source: Bloomberg This is the 8th downward revision of durable goods orders in the last year… Source: Bloomberg Under the hood, defense and non-defense capital goods orders rose with non-defense aircraft...

JPMorgan Chase (JPM) CEO Jamie Dimon is concerned the US economy could be in for a repeat of the problems that hampered the country during the 1970s. "Yes, I think there’s a chance that can happen again," he said during an appearance Tuesday at the Economic Club of New York. The economy in that troubled decade was constrained by stagflation, a combination of low growth and high inflation, and Dimon said such a risk exists again.

Soaring gas prices have risen to $7.29 in parts of California. That price per gallon is higher than the federal minimum hourly wage. Other parts of the U.S. have also fallen victim to rising fuel costs.

JPMorgan Chase (JPM) CEO Jamie Dimon is concerned the US economy could be in for a repeat of the problems that hampered the country during the 1970s. "Yes, I think there’s a chance that can happen again," he said during an appearance Tuesday at the Economic Club of New York. The economy in that troubled decade was constrained by stagflation, a combination of low growth and high inflation, and Dimon said such a risk exists again. "I worry that it looks more like the seventies than we've seen before," he added during a question-and-answer session with Marie-Josee Kravis, chair of...

Month-over-month inflation has been rising on average 0.4% for the past three months and 0.3% for the past six months. If inflation continues to rise at this pace for the rest of the year, then year-over-year core CPI inflation will increase from currently 3.8% to 4% to 4.5%, see chart below. Even if month-over-month increases in core CPI comes in at the historical average of 0.2% for the rest of the year, then year-over-year inflation will still end the year at 3%. To get inflation back to the Fed’s 2% inflation target, core CPI for the rest of the year...

The already insane cost of purchasing a home has hit a new high, thanks to the ongoing horror show that is Bidenomics. Fox News: Findings from Redfin show the combination of steep mortgage rates and elevated home prices has pushed the median monthly housing payment to a record $2,775 – an 11% increase from the same time last year. … There are a number of driving forces behind the affordability crisis. Years of underbuilding fueled a shortage of homes in the country, a problem that was later exacerbated by the rapid rise in mortgage rates and expensive construction materials. And...

April 2024 has been a horrible month for the stock market. This Friday I will be doing a live stream and explaining what is happening. I will be discussing some leading economic indicators that no one else has been talking about that suggest trouble for the economy ahead.VIDEO

For Joe Biden, government spending has no bottom. There's always a student loan to 'forgive,' a green scheme to lose money on, or an illegal alien to offer a 'free' lifetime service package to. And bureaucrats to hire, lots and lots of bureaucrats... As a result the U.S. deficit has hit record levels. According to the Treasury Department:A deficit occurs when the federal government’s spending exceeds its revenues. The federal government has spent $1.06 trillion more than it has collected in fiscal year (FY 2024, resulting in a national deficit.And the national debt? The Treasury Department says:The national debt ($34.60...

Sanctions and the removal of Russia from SWIFT have not deterred the Russian economy. A recent report by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) predicts that Russia’s economy will grow more in the next year than any other advanced economy. The IMF believes Russia’s economy will grow by 3.2% in 2024, in comparison, the US is expected to grow by 2.7% while Europe’s top economy, Germany, is expected to grow by a mere 0.2%. Cutting off Europe from Russian energy backfired in a major way. Foreign investments have been pouring into Russia from the rest of the world, which is eager...

The International Monetary Fund boosted its 2024 global growth forecast to 3.2%, holding steady with 2023, compared with its previous outlook that expected 2.9% growth this year and 3.0% in 2023. In addition, headline inflation is projected to drop to 2.8% at the end of 2024 then to 2.4% at the end of 2025. "Most indicators continue to point to a soft landing," the IMF said in its April 2024 World Economic Outlook Report. "We also project less economic scarring from the crises of the past four years, although estimates vary across countries." The U.S. economy has overtaken its pre-pandemic...

Red Lobster is reportedly considering filing for bankruptcy to relieve financial pressures that have weighed on the company. According to a report by Bloomberg citing people familiar with the discussions, Red Lobster is weighing a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing to renegotiate burdensome leases and address other long-term contracts as well as rising labor costs. The outlet reported that the seafood restaurant chain is being advised by law firm King & Spalding on the subject, and that while discussions about restructuring are ongoing and that no final decisions have been made about a bankruptcy filing. By filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy,...