Free Republic

The lines go down the sidewalk before the doors even open - families, backyard farmers, and people fighting high egg prices are here to get a first look. These early birds get the chicks. Kathy Swint called it “our regular chick order day” at Swint’s Feed and Garden Supply in Jonesboro. They started the day with hundreds of tiny 2-day old chicks, and they were all snapped up in 40 minutes. Phyllis Gardner told Channel 2’s Linda Stouffer that she found exactly what she was looking for. “We have Lavender Orpingtons, these are Buff Orpingtons. They grow up to be...

Inflation risk has been a significant topic of discussion in the mainstream media for the last few years. Such is unsurprising given that inflation spiked following the pandemic in 2020 as consumer spending (demand) was shot into overdrive from stimulus payments and production (supply) was shuttered. To understand why that occurred, we need to revisit “Economics 101.”“In economics, inflation is a general increase in the prices of goods and services. Changes in inflation are a function of fluctuations in actual demand for goods and services (also known as demand shocks, including changes in fiscal or monetary policy or recession), changes...

Once again, Zillow has downgraded its 12-month forecast for national home prices. On Wednesday, Zillow economists published their updated forecast model, projecting that U.S. home prices, as measured by the Zillow Home Value Index, will fall 1.7% between March 2025 and March 2026. Back in March, Zillow downgraded its 12-month outlook for U.S. home prices to +0.8%. In February, Zillow downgraded its 12-month outlook to +1.1%. And at the start of the year in January, Zillow’s 12-month national home price forecast was +2.9%. Why does Zillow keep downgrading its national home price outlook? | Fast Company Newsletters “The rise in...

The humble egg is one of those foods that pops up just about everywhere. An egg can be cooked in dozens, if not hundreds, of different preparations, and just like any other commodity, the price has really fluctuated over the years. Tracking down the retail price of a dozen Grade A eggs over the decades wasn't an easy task, as prices have varied from store to store over the years, and supermarkets haven't kept track of prices for decades on end. So in order to get an annual retail price that we could stand behind, we worked with the U.S....

Gold gains some ground despite U.S. dollar’s rebound as traders focus on the continuation of the pullback in Treasury yields. From the technical point of view, gold needs to settle above the resistance at $3235 – $3245 to gain additional upside momentum in the near term. Silver remains stuck below the 50 MA at $32.51 as traders wait for additional catalysts. If silver moves back below the $32.00 level, it will head towards the nearest support at $31.45 – $31.75. Platinum tests new highs as rally continues amid tariff optimism. Platinum is heading towards the nearest resistance at $960 –...

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, the U.S. Department of Commerce announced its intent to withdraw from the 2019 Agreement Suspending the Antidumping Investigation on Fresh Tomatoes from Mexico, with termination effective in 90 days. The current agreement has failed to protect U.S. tomato growers from unfairly priced Mexican imports, as Commerce has been flooded with comments from them urging its termination. This action will allow U.S. tomato growers to compete fairly in the marketplace.With the termination of this agreement, Commerce will institute an antidumping duty order on July 14, 2025, resulting in duties of 20.91% on most imports of tomatoes from...

The tariff doomsday machine is roaring again. This time, it’s over talk of a 50% tariff on certain imports. Predictably, the panic-peddlers are out in force, warning that such a tariff means retail prices will skyrocket 50%. It’s an easy line to chant, but it’s wrong — flat wrong — and anyone with a basic grasp of economics should know better.Let’s make one thing clear: a tariff applies to the transaction value, not the final retail price. The transaction value is what the importer pays the exporter, plus freight and insurance. That cost is just the first step in a...

Remind us again about who was president in March? You wouldn't know if you only depended on the CNN News Central report on the very unexpected DROP in the rate of inflation in March that was presented by reporter Matt Egan. Despite all his gushing about the drop in the inflation rate, Egan couldn't bring himself to mention the T-name. Oh, and the other name missing from Egan's report was Joe Biden despite having presided over monthly increases in the inflation rate throughout his time in the White House from 2021 through January 20, 2025.Watch Egan present the very good...

U.S. egg prices increased again last month to reach a new record-high of $6.23 per dozen despite President Donald Trump’s predictions, a drop in wholesale prices and no egg farms having bird flu outbreaks.... ....The farms that had fall outbreaks have been working to resume egg production after sanitizing their barns and raising new flocks, but chickens must be about six months old before they start laying eggs. Thompson said those farms did not come back online as quickly as anticipated. The increase reported Thursday in the Consumer Price Index means consumers and businesses that rely on eggs might not...

Consumer price inflation eased more than expected in March as President Donald Trump prepared to launch tariffs against U.S. trading partners, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Thursday. The consumer price index, a broad measure of goods and services costs across the U.S. economy, fell a seasonally adjusted 0.1% in March, putting the 12-month inflation rate at 2.4%, down from 2.8% in February. Excluding food and energy, so-called core inflation ran at a 2.8% annual rate, having increased 0.1% for the month. That was the lowest rate for core inflation since March 2021.

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - U.S. Treasuries extended heavy losses on Wednesday in a sign investors are selling even their safest assets as a global market rout unleashed by U.S. tariffs takes an unnerving turn towards distress and a dash for the safety of cash. "This is beyond fundamentals right now. This is about liquidity," said Jack Chambers, senior rates strategist at ANZ in Sydney. The 10-year U.S. Treasury yield, the globe's benchmark safe-haven anchor, was up 20 basis points and rising in Asia - a remarkable move in a time zone where it's usually fairly steady. At 4.46% the yield is...

Benny Johnson @bennyjohnson 🚨BREAKING: President Trump announces MASSIVE tariffs are coming VERY shortly on pharmaceuticals. THIS is what I voted for: "We're gonna tariff our pharmaceuticals ... we're going to be announcing very shortly a major tariff on pharmaceuticals." From Aaron Rupar 8:00 PM · Apr 8, 2025

President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth pledged a first ever $1 trillion defense budget proposal on Monday, a record sum for the military. Trump, during a press event with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, said the upcoming budget would be “in the vicinity” of $1 trillion Hegseth went further in an X post on Monday evening, saying Trump “is rebuilding our military — and FAST.” “COMING SOON: the first TRILLION dollar @DeptofDefense budget,” Hegseth posted from his personal account. “(PS: we intend to spend every taxpayer dollar wisely — on lethality and readiness).” The number would be a...

Millions drawing for $2. Friday, April 4, is the final Mega drawing before the lottery rolls out a new version and prize structure in its next drawing on Tuesday, April 8. Going forward, tickets will cost $5 instead of $2, but the lottery says players will have improved odds to win, along with larger starting and faster-growing jackpots. The average jackpot is expected to top $800 million, up from around $450 million. Every ticket has a random multiplier, and there's one less gold Mega ball.

Levin shreds the Democrat rhetoric of Trump's policies and explains what Trump is really doing.

On the Senate floor, Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) expressed deep concern about the Republican budget resolution, and put forward an amendment to raise the debt ceiling.

Wall Street kicked off Friday with another brutal stretch of losses driven by President Trump’s new tariffs despite stronger than expected March jobs data. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down more than 1,200 points shortly before 10:30 a.m. EDT Friday, a day after the market suffered its worse single-day of trading in five years. The S&P 500 index was down 3.6 percent, and the Nasdaq composite was down 3.5 percent. All three major indexes took serious losses Thursday, the first full day of trading after Trump’s announcement of up to $600 billion in new import taxes. The scale and...

Full List of Countries Hit With Reciprocal TariffsCountryTariffs Charged to the U.S.A. (%)U.S.A. Discounted Reciprocal Tariffs (%)China6734European Union3920Vietnam9046Taiwan6432Japan4624India5226South Korea5025Thailand7236Switzerland6131Indonesia6432Malaysia4724Cambodia9749United Kingdom1010South Africa6030Brazil1010Bangladesh7437Singapore1010Israel3317Philippines3417Chile1010Australia1010Pakistan5829Turkey1010Sri Lanka8844Colombia1010Peru1010Nicaragua3618Norway3015Costa Rica1710Jordan4020Dominican Republic1010United Arab Emirates1010New Zealand2010Argentina1010Ecuador1210Guatemala1010Honduras1010Madagascar9347Myanmar (Burma)8844Tunisia5528Kazakhstan5427Serbia7437Egypt1010Saudi Arabia1010El Salvador1010Côte d'Ivoire4121Laos9548Botswana7437Trinidad and Tobago1210Morocco1010Papua New Guinea1510Malawi3417Liberia1010British Virgin Islands1010Afghanistan4910Zimbabwe3518Benin1010Barbados1010Monaco1010Syria8141Uzbekistan1010Republic of the Congo1010Djibouti1010French Polynesia1010Cayman Islands1010Kosovo1010Curaçao1010Vanuatu4422Rwanda1010Sierra Leone1010Mongolia1010San Marino1010Antigua and Barbuda1010Bermuda1010Eswatini1010Marshall Islands1010Saint Pierre and Miquelon9950Saint Kitts and Nevis1010Turkmenistan1010Grenada1010Sudan1010Turks and Caicos Islands1010Aruba1010Montenegro1010Saint Helena1510Kyrgyzstan1010Yemen1010Saint Vincent and the Grenadines1010Niger1010Saint Lucia1010Nauru5930Equatorial Guinea2513Iran1010Libya6131Samoa1010Guinea1010Timor-Leste1010Montserrat1010Chad2613Mali1010Algeria5930Oman1010Uruguay1010Bahamas1010Lesotho9950Ukraine1010Bahrain1010Qatar1010Mauritius8040Fiji6332Iceland1010Kenya1010Liechtenstein7337Guyana7638Haiti1010Bosnia and Herzegovina7035Nigeria2714Namibia4221Brunei4724Bolivia2010Panama1010Venezuela2915North Macedonia6533Ethiopia1010Ghana1710Moldova6131Angola6332Democratic Republic of the Congo2211Jamaica1010Mozambique3116Paraguay1010Zambia3317Lebanon1010Tanzania1010Iraq7839Georgia1010Senegal1010Azerbaijan1010Cameroon2211Uganda2010Albania1010Armenia1010Nepal1010Sint Maarten1010Falkland Islands8241Gabon1010Kuwait1010Togo1010Suriname1010Belize1010Maldives1010Tajikistan1010Cabo Verde1010Burundi1010Guadeloupe1010Bhutan1010Martinique1010Tonga1010Mauritania1010Dominica1010Micronesia1010Gambia1010French Guiana1010Christmas Island1010Andorra1010Central African Republic1010Solomon Islands1010Mayotte1010Anguilla1010Cocos (Keeling) Islands1010Eritrea1010Cook Islands1010South Sudan1010Comoros1010Kiribati1010Sao Tome and Principe1010Norfolk Island5829Gibraltar1010Tuvalu1010British Indian Ocean Territory1010Tokelau1010Guinea-Bissau1010Svalbard and Jan Mayen1010Heard and McDonald Islands1010Reunion7337*White House officials said the calculations...

President Donald Trump on Wednesday unveiled a long-promised, sweeping set of baseline tariffs on all countries and what he described as "kind reciprocal" tariffs on nations he claimed were the worst offenders in trade relations with the U.S. "My fellow Americans, this is Liberation Day," Trump said as he kicked off his remarks in the Rose Garden, claiming the action will free the U.S. from dependence on foreign goods. "April 2, 2025, will forever be remembered as the day American industry was reborn, the day America's destiny was reclaimed and the day that we began to make America wealthy again,"...

White House trade adviser Peter Navarro estimated the U.S. would raise about $600 billion to $700 billion a year from tariffs...Economists say the true number will probably be less than half of that sum.