Free Republic

It’s the middle of July, and President Trump still doesn’t have a chairman for his Council of Economic Advisers. His nominee, Kevin Hassett, is a world-recognized expert on taxation, but he has been stuck on the sidelines despite tax reform being one of the administration’s big goals this year. He is the one person who could explain how the different parts of the tax bill fit together. White House advisor Gary Cohn has reportedly told associates that time is running out for tax reform. He worries that if tax reform doesn't get done by the end of the year, it...

<p>The U.S. economy revved up this spring after a weak start to the year, fueled by a surge in consumer spending. But the growth spurt still fell short of the optimistic goals President Donald Trump hopes to achieve through tax cuts and regulatory relief.</p>

Durable goods orders for June 2017 Prior was -0.8% Ex transport +0.2% vs +0.4% expected Prior ex transport +0.3% (revised to +0.6%) Capital goods orders non-defense ex air -0.1% vs +0.3% expected Prior capital goods orders non-defense ex air +0.2% (revised to +0.7%) Capital goods shipments non-defense ex air +0.2% vs +0.3% expected

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S consumer confidence jumped to a near 16-year high in July amid optimism over the labor market while house prices maintained their upward trend in May, which could boost consumer spending after recent sluggishness. The reports on Tuesday underscored the economy's strong fundamentals, expected to keep the Federal Reserve on course to raise interest rates for a third time this year. "This brightens the outlook for the economy as we enter the second half of the year," said Chris Rupkey, chief economist at MUFG in New York. "We expect Fed officials will continue with their gradual pace...

Democrats get that the odds are stacked against workers. So why are workers treated like they’re part of the problem? Eight months after their devastating loss to Donald Trump, Democrats have finally decided to coalesce around a core message to strengthen their position as they head into the 2018 midterms. They are focusing squarely on so-called kitchen table issues: jobs, wages, and the price of everyday needs. They are also approaching these issues through a new, systemic framework: The “Better Deal” agenda that they rolled out on Monday acknowledges that the economy is skewed in favor of big corporations and...

The cannabis industry could have a notable economic impact, if the U.S. federal government stays out of the way. Investors are always on the lookout for fast-growing industries, which means there's no surprise why marijuana stocks have been such strong performers over the past year. Far more pot stocks than not with a market cap of at least $200 million have doubled or tripled in value over the past year. Optimistic growth figures for the industry are seemingly everywhere. Aside from the fact that a record number of Americans surveyed by Gallup and CBS News want to see cannabis legalized...

Jones Act ships under construction at Philly Shipyard, fomerly Aker Philadelphia Shipyard. File Photo Jones Act shipbuilder Philly Shipyard announced Friday that it has entered into a Letter of Intent (LOI) with a leading, blue chip Jones Act operating company for the construction and sale of up to four containerships with planned deliveries in 2020 and 2021. The identity of the operating company has yet not been disclosed, but Philly Shipyard indicated that the vessels would be based on a similar design to the two Aloha-class containerships it is currently building for Matson, Inc. Friday’s announcement follows news from last...

The real value added to the U.S economy by the mining, construction and manufacturing sectors boomed in the first quarter of 2017, while the real value added by the financial and insurance sector dropped, according to data released today by the Bureau of Economic Analysis. Overall, the U.S. economy grew at an annual pace of only 1.4 percent in the first quarter. But the value added by mining grew by a booming annual rate of 21.6 percent, while construction grew 5.6 percent and manufacturing grew 4.7%.....

Troubling and significant statistics produced by the government indicate important facts about our political system and its priorities. Unfortunately, these statistics often get little coverage in the media. What coverage is provided usually only focuses on the current year and might include comparison with the previous year. Two such sets of government statistics cover wealth distribution and poverty. These statistics have a margin of error and do not account for the up and down fluctuations in the economy nor changing historical conditions or limitations of what any president can do. What is perhaps most critical are the trends. These trends...

A report released by a media firm backed by left-wing financier George Soros admits that low-skilled immigration hurts America’s middle and working-class. ProPublica, backed by Soros, released a report where they not only confirmed President Trump’s argument that immigration should be merit-based to help Americans, but also conceded that the last four decades of low-skilled immigration has hurt U.S. workers: "Of course, the question of how immigration impacts GDP is a small slice of a much broader question of how immigrants and immigration policies affect our economy. Steven Camarota, the director of research for the Center for Immigration Studies, points...

(Note: On Wednesday, the Mayo Clinic in Phoenix released a statement saying that tissue pathology revealed that a primary brain tumor known as a glioblastoma, an aggressive type of cancer, was associated with Senator McCain’s blood clot. The statement added that the tissue of concern was completely resected during last Friday’s procedure, and the Senator and his family are reviewing further treatment options, which may include a combination of chemotherapy and radiation. The statement went on to say that “the Senator’s doctors say he is recovering from his surgery ‘amazingly well’ and his underlying health is excellent.” It is unclear...

It’s Thursday, July 20th. As of today, Donald Trump has been president for 6 months. The media coverage of the president is overwhelmingly negative: the press remains contemptuous, and they're pushing to get him out before he completes his first term. Investors might think differently. The great success of the Trump presidency thus far, is not what he's done, but what he promises to do, namely, get the economy going again. Evidently, investors believe he might yet get it done. Look at this: since his election win, the Trump rally has added $4.1 trillion to the nation's wealth. Anyone with...

(Note: The map above and post and table below have been slightly updated to reflect new, more complete, and revised state GDP data for 2015 that were released today by the BEA. The previous post was based on preliminary data through the third quarter of last year.)The map above (click to enlarge) was created (with assistance from AEI’s graphic design director Olivier Ballou) by matching the economic output (GDP) in each US state (and the District of Columbia) in 2015 to foreign countries with comparable nominal GDP last year, using data from the BEA for GDP by US state and...

Millions of Venezuelans signaled their disapproval of President Nicolás Maduro's plan to hold a constituent assembly by casting ballots on Sunday in a vote unlike any other in this nation's history. More than 98 percent of voters sided with the opposition in answering three yes-or-no questions drafted with the aim of weakening Mr. Maduro's legitimacy days before his constituent assembly is expected to convene. Opponents see the assembly as a power grab by an increasingly unpopular leader and fear he may use it to do away with democratic elections. [Snip] Shortly before midnight, a group of Venezuelan university administrators tasked...

Idaho achieved a notable distinction last year: It became one of the hardest places in America for someone to quit a job for a better one. The state did this by making it easier for companies to enforce noncompete agreements, which prevent employees from leaving their company for a competitor. While its economy is known for agriculture — potatoes are among the state’s biggest exports — Idaho has a long history as a technology hub. And the new law landed in the middle of the tech world, causing a clash between hungry start-ups looking to poach employees and more established...

Idaho achieved a notable distinction last year: It became one of the hardest places in America for someone to quit a job for a better one. The state did this by making it easier for companies to enforce noncompete agreements, which prevent employees from leaving their company for a competitor. While its economy is known for agriculture — potatoes are among the state’s biggest exports — Idaho has a long history as a technology hub. And the new law landed in the middle of the tech world, causing a clash between hungry start-ups looking to poach employees and more established...

By Nina Chestney LONDON, July 13 (Reuters) – The United States is on track to have capacity to become the world’s second largest exporter of liquefied natural gas (LNG) by the end of 2022, just behind Australia and ahead of Qatar, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said. [snip] "By the end of our forecast period, the United States will be well on course to challenging Australia and Qatar for global leadership among LNG exporters,” the report said."

Approaching 63 early next year I’m seriously considering retiring. Still plan to work, 3 day weekends every week. In ’17 you could make around 20K, after that they would take a dollar off funds for every $2 made over ... apparently that figure will go up in ’18. Naturally the apprehension is giving up 20% for the rest of my life but I have a small pension which evens it out. But money lost nevertheless. What price is wrong for a better quality of life and precious time? Did you retire early and regret it or not and wish you...

In many ways was a massive trillion-dollar tax increase masquerading as a health reform plan called Obamacare... Obamacare’s taxes hurt nearly everyone with new tolls on business investment, drug and vaccine production, payrolls, medical devices, hiring and union health insurance plans... Every one of the taxes was counterproductive...So why tax them and make them more expensive — less “affordable?” To improve health, throw out all of these taxes yesterday... One major reason that President Obama gave us the weakest recovery from a recession is that business investment fell dramatically...during this recovery, business capital spending for plant and equipment and computers...

DES MOINES, Iowa — Iowa farmers received a major boost Thursday after a Chinese delegation in Des Moines signed commitments to purchase nearly all of Iowa’s soybeans. The $4.5 billion deal to buy 460 million bushels of soybeans comes a week before Gov. Kim Reynolds is expected to lead an agricultural trade mission to China and brings tremendous value to the Iowa economy. Advertisement “As an Iowa farmer, this is huge,” said April Hemmes, a farmer who owns a 1,000-acre farm near Hampton in rural Franklin County. “They basically bought the entire production that we have in the state of...