Free Republic

No matter what happens in President Donald Trump’s economy, you can bet your bottom dollar that The New York Times hacks will find some way to splatter it with bad news, even when it's easily demonstrated these partisans offered a very different spin under Declinin' Biden. The latest news on the banger Q2 GDP numbers was no exception. Bidenomics toady and Times chief economic correspondent Ben Casselman twisted the entire story into a pretzel to still make it look like a net negative for Trump. This was the absurd headline deck to describe 3 percent growth: "U.S. Economy Slowed in...

Vitol Group handed a record $10.6 billion to its executives and senior staff through share buybacks last year, as the fallout of the energy crisis continued to deliver extraordinary riches to the world’s commodity traders. The share repurchase — almost certainly the highest such payout in the industry’s history — means privately held Vitol has distributed over $31 billion to its partners in the past decade, according to the company’s audited annual accounts seen by Bloomberg News. The numbers show how the disruptions that followed Russia’s invasion of Ukraine have handed a spectacular bonanza to a small group of commodity...

No economy rises or falls for just one reason, even a shock as big as Donald Trump’s trade policy, says Ruchir Sharma for the Financial Times.At the beginning of the year, the world was in striking agreement on one point: If Donald Trump went ahead with tariffs, it would strengthen the dollar and trigger stagflation. Chief executives, investors and commentators all said the same. Economists estimated that every percentage point increase in the tariff rate would shave 0.1 per cent off US growth and add 0.1 per cent to inflation. But so far, the consequences have been far less disruptive...

The president’s vision for reshaping global trade is falling into place, but he is embarking on an experiment that economists say could still produce damaging results.Over the last six months, the United States has left behind the global trade order that persisted for decades in favor of something drastically different and largely untested. Formidable economies like the European Union and Japan have abruptly made peace with higher tariffs on their exports, acquiescing to President Trump’s demands in order to avoid damaging trade wars and to coax even steeper U.S. duties down just a little bit. As major economies fall in...

CNBC host Jim Cramer’s excitement about President Donald Trump’s latest trade deal got the better of him on Monday. Cramer blurted out “What the f—!” during a segment of CNBC’s “Squawk on The Street” after seeing a graphic detailing the United States’ recent trade deals with various countries, including a major trade deal made with the European Union on Sunday. “Our biggest problem is we have so much growth that the Fed won’t cut. What the f—!” the co-host exclaimed, regretting it as soon as he said it. “Oh my God! I’m so sorry,” Cramer said. “I’m so sorry. I...

Shrinkflation meets inflation as The Hershey Company responds to rising cocoa prices with packaging changes.-The Hershey Company will increase U.S. retail prices this fall due to the ongoing surge in global cocoa prices, which have reached historic highs driven by poor harvests and the impacts of climate change in key growing regions. -The company expects low double-digit percentage price hikes, with some product packaging sizes reduced, although Halloween-specific candies will be exempt from the increases. -Hershey’s is also seeking a tariff exemption, expecting chocolate import costs to reach as much as $100 million in the second half of 2025 once...

Business production spending has seen its highest climb since 1997, when accounting for post-COVID reopenings, the Trump administration has announced in a release obtained by Blaze News. Capital expenditures — or capex, which refer to what companies spend on their research and development, software, transportation, and more — are a great way to gauge how much businesses are expanding or developing their operations. Additionally, real wages are also rising, according to the Trump administration, and the growth speed in 2025 has been outpaced by only one previous administration. Business equipment production jumped 11% in Q2 2025 after already garnering a...

This program is giving more Palm Beach County residents the chance to call themselves homeowners. The program is run by the county’s Department of Housing and Economic Development. “We provide up to $100,000 for down payment assistance, new construction, acquisition and closing costs,” said Dorina Jenkins-Gaskin, the director of Mortgage and Housing Investment with the Palm Beach County Housing and Economic Development.

The state of President Donald Trump’s economy is about to come into full view. A slew of crucial economic data is set for release this week, including the jobs report, inflation, consumer confidence and corporate earnings. We’ll get the first glimpse at America’s second-quarter gross domestic product, the broadest measure of the economy. And, most crucially, the Federal Reserve will decide whether to cut rates or hold steady. As if that weren’t enough, Trump’s trade polices also come due: Friday is the administration’s self-imposed deadline for settling tariff rates for all 200+ US trading partners. Trump’s top economic advisers will...

President Donald Trump made a promise at a reception last week for Republican lawmakers that was as impossible as it was specific: He would drive down drug prices by as much as 1,500 percent — “numbers that are not even thought to be achievable,” he said. A price cannot drop by more than 100 percent, but Trump went on to make several other precise but clearly false numerical claims. The cost of gasoline had fallen to $1.99 a gallon in five states, he said; according to AAA, it was over $3 in every state. Businesses had invested $16 trillion in...

EU will purchase $750 Billion of US Energy EU wil invest $600 Billion in US EU Countries now open to Trade with US, no Tariffs -more as details emerge. This is huge! Trump says “biggest deal of them all!”

New York will soon require most new buildings to be fully electric, following a vote by the state Building Code Council, according to the Times Union. Beginning January 2026, gas and oil systems will be banned in newly constructed homes and low-rise buildings, with broader mandates kicking in by 2029. Supporters say the move helps cut emissions and long-term costs, but critics argue it burdens residents and stresses an already strained power grid. The law includes exceptions for buildings with permits filed before year’s end and does not apply to renovations. New York’s building sector is the state’s largest emissions...

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent joined Maria Bartiromo on Mornings with Maria this week. Bessent broke the news that President Trump’s pro-growth policies are driving a major CapEx comeback. According to Investopedia, CapEx, or capital expenditures, refers to the money a company uses to acquire, upgrade, or maintain physical assets. CapEx investments are essential for a business’s growth. Thanks to President Trump, business investment is surging in the United States at the fastest pace since 1997! Scott Bessent cheered the news on Mornings with Maria: Treasury Secretary Bessent: Maria, this is a combination. It’s the tariff’s bringing back manufacturing to the...

Why pay higher prices in a more competitive housing market when you can just keep paying compulsory taxes on your capital gains? That’s effectively the head-scratching argument CNN tried to make to ding President Trump’s tax-cutting agenda. Yeah, we couldn’t really make sense of that logic either.

CEOs and foreign leaders are scrambling to figure out new rules for global commerceMajor U.S. corporations and trading partners are scrambling to adapt to a new global economy, even as President Donald Trump mulls the imposition of historic tariffs in less than two weeks. Conagra Brands, owner of Hunt’s, Duncan Hines and Birds Eye, plans to raise prices on canned goods after “suffering a tremendous amount of inflation due to tariffs on tinplate steel,” its chief executive told investors this month. Tariffs are causing Fastenal, an industrial supplier, to split its imports into separate shipments to Canada and the United...

On Tuesday, the yield on the 10-year Treasury surged nearly 10 basis points in a few hours, rising above 4.49 percent. The rising yield came after the release of new price-inflation data showing that CPI growth had hit a five-month high and remained well above the Federal Reserve’s two-percent target for price inflation. Rising yields often indicate that bond investors believe price inflation will continue to grow, so it was probably no coincidence that bond yields—especially on longer-term bonds—jumped following the report’s release. Whatever the reason behind the rising yield, this is bad news for those who were looking for...

A travel ban imposed on a US Wells Fargo employee has raised fresh concerns among foreign firms about the risks of doing business in China, amid growing scrutiny of international companies and renewed fears of entanglement with Chinese authorities. The bank has suspended all staff travel to China after Shanghai-born Chenyue Mao, who leads its international factoring division, was blocked from leaving the country in recent weeks, according to the Wall Street Journal. Mao is a US citizen, a source told Reuters. Business groups, diplomats and foreign executives said the incident adds to a longstanding worry about China's use of...

“For the FOURTH month in a row, jobs numbers have beat market expectations with nearly 150,000 good jobs created in June. American-born workers have accounted for ALL of the job gains since President Trump took office and wages continue to rise. The economy is booming again and it will only get better when the One, Big, Beautiful Bill is passed and implemented.” —White House Press Secretary Karoline LeavittUnder President Donald J. Trump’s leadership, the economy had another stellar month — with wage increases for hardworking Americans, a falling unemployment rate, and a labor market that’s once again benefitting American citizens.In...

A chaotic rollout of tariffs is starting to filter through to price tags on store shelves. An immigration crackdown is beginning to weigh on jobs growth, measured by federal surveys. Taken together, the impact of President Trump’s whirlwind six months back in office is showing up in the economy. The effect isn’t yet enough to derail the economy, which by many measures has weathered Trump’s trade wars much better than many on Wall Street and in Washington feared. Economists see less risk of a recession now than three months ago, a Wall Street Journal survey found. Yet a long stretch...

Get ready for a deep dive into one of the most exciting technical setups in recent memory. In this episode of the Gold & Silver Show, Mike Maloney and Alan Hibbard break down a massive “cup and handle” pattern forming across multiple timeframes—6‑month, quarterly, and annual—forecasting a possible silver breakout into the $300–$500+ per ounce range (yes, really). From historic parallels to the 1970s bull run, you’ll see how current price action mirrors volatile, vertical gains—complete with confirmation signals across key charts. Discover why silver may need to hit $200–$468 (or more) just to reclaim its inflation-adjusted purchasing power, and...