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The U.S. economy grew at a much greater-than-expected pace in the third quarter, boosted by strong consumer spending, a delayed report released Tuesday showed. U.S. GDP expanded by 4.3% in the July-September period, the Commerce Department said in its initial reading of third-quarter growth. Economists polled by Dow Jones expect a gain of 3.2%. Consumer spending expanded by 3.5% in the third quarter after rising 2.5% in the second quarter.

Americans should expect to be flush with cash next year, with fat tax-refund checks and more take-home pay in their pockets, says a top contender to become President Trump’s next Federal Reserve chair. “We are going to see the biggest refund cycle ever in the history of America, and people are going to get massive refund checks,” boasted National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett this week in an interview on FOX Business’ “Varney & Co.” “We’re expecting just that part of it alone to be worth a couple-thousand-dollar refund … the numbers are striking.” Hassett’s comments Thursday came a day...

<p>Democrats’ fear-mongering about the Trump economy is looking more and more like sour grapes.</p><p>Yesterday’s CPI report, showing inflation of 2.7 percent — well below the expected 3.1 percent — was bad political news for Democrats. Since “Liberation Day” in April, when President Trump rolled out tariffs aimed at resetting global trade in favor of U.S. companies, the left and their media allies have warned voters that the White House’s actions would clobber our economy and set inflation soaring.</p>

Black Friday spending surged this year to new highs, fueled by record-breaking online spending that reached $11.8 billion on Black Friday alone, according to market data. Online sales made on Black Friday made up about 10% of total sales for the month of November, more than $111 billion dollars, according to Adobe Analytics’s report on holiday shopping trends. This represents a 9.1% increase in online sales compared to last year. Adobe tracks over 1 trillion U.S. retail site visits.

(The Economic Collapse Blog)—What is the Fed not telling us? The numbers clearly indicate that big trouble is brewing in the banking system. I wish that I could specifically tell you which banks are in the most trouble, but at this stage we simply aren’t being told anything. They probably figure that the best approach is to try to keep everyone as calm as possible. But they won’t be able to keep a lid on what is going on indefinitely, and when word finally gets out people could start to panic. In recent weeks, bank reserves have fallen to alarmingly...

WASHINGTON (AP) — In the midst of a federal government shutdown, the U.S. government’s gross national debt surpassed $38 trillion Wednesday, a record number that highlights the accelerating accumulation of debt on America’s balance sheet. It’s also the fastest accumulation of a trillion dollars in debt outside of the COVID-19 pandemic — the U.S. hit $37 trillion in gross national debt in August this year. The $38 trillion update is found in the latest Treasury Department report, which logs the nation’s daily finances. The U.S. hit $34 trillion in debt in January 2024, $35 trillion in July 2024 and $36...

Roughly 42% of younger working Americans — spanning Gen Z, millennials and Gen X — report having no spare savings after covering their basic living expenses, according to the analysis, which surveyed about 3,600 workers and 1,500 retirees. Among those just getting by, about three-quarters said they are struggling to save for retirement, the survey found. The share of U.S. workers in this precarious financial position has grown significantly since 1997, when 31% lived paycheck to paycheck, according to Goldman. The investment bank projects that figure could climb to well over half of Americans by 2033 as essentials like housing...

A mix of high borrowing costs, dwindling job openings and growing economic and political uncertainty have left many U.S. households at a standstill, with many Americans saying they feel unable to buy new homes, take new jobs or move to new cities. The Federal Reserve’s interest rate cut last week — the first of the year, with the expectation that more will follow — may have boosted stock prices, but it isn’t likely to make much of a difference to everyday Americans, economists say. While the economy is generally in good shape, many people feel stuck. “Consumers have been increasingly...

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...

Why is President Trump escalating a trade war that had seemed dormant, threatening high tariffs on major trading partners, imported copper, and pharmaceuticals? A better question is "why not?" The big picture: Economic, market, and policy developments have been a wind at the president's back in the last two months. The threatened downsides of an erratic policy process have not materialized, and economic naysayers — for the moment, at least — look silly. This backdrop helps explain why Trump feels empowered to follow his instincts, which have long tilted toward aggressive use of trade barriers. Flashback: Three months ago, stock...

The unemployment rate ticked down 4.1% from 4.2% in May, the Labor Department said Thursday.U.S. employers added 147,000 jobs in June as the American labor market continues to show surprising resilience despite uncertainty over President Donald Trump's economic policies. The unemployment rate ticked down 4.1% from 4.2% in May, the Labor Department said Thursday. Hiring rose modestly from a revised 144,000 in May and beat economists' expectations of fewer than 118,000 new jobs and a rise in the unemployment rate The U.S. job market has cooled considerably from red-hot days of 2021-2023 when the economy bounced back with unexpected strength...

Donald J. Trump @realDonaldTrump BE COOL! Everything is going to work out well. The USA will be bigger and better than ever before! Apr 09, 2025, 8:33 AM

President Trump stood by his wide-scale tariffs, calling them a “beautiful thing to behold” that will eventually be largely supported even as the stock futures dropped Sunday evening. “They are already in effect, and a beautiful thing to behold. The Surplus with these Countries has grown during the ‘Presidency’ of Sleepy Joe Biden,” Trump blasted out on Truth Social Sunday night as he attempted to justify the action he took against around 90 nations last week. “We are going to reverse it, and reverse it QUICKLY. Some day people will realize that Tariffs, for the United States of America, are...

​Several countries have announced plans to reduce or eliminate tariffs on U.S. imports in response to President Donald Trump’s “reciprocal tariffs” policy, set to take effect on April 2, 2025. This policy aims to match the tariffs that other nations impose on U.S. products. The White House released a detailed chart showing how badly many countries have been ripping off American workers, charging high tariffs on U.S. goods while benefiting from America’s generosity in return.

US stock futures plunged on Thursday as investors digested President Trump's announcement of a 10% tariff on all US trading partners, which has sent shockwaves through markets and the global trade order. S&P 500 futures (ES=F) dived 3.1%, while Dow Jones Industrial Average futures (YM=F) tumbled 2.5%, or over 1,000 points. Contracts on the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 (NQ=F) led the sell-off, plummeting 3.5%. Apple (AAPL) shares fell sharply, while Nvidia (NVDA) and other chip stocks also tumbled amid concerns about disruption to their supply chains. China, a key supplier of components to such tech companies, was hit with additional US...

President Trump unveiled his new “liberation day” tariffs on Wednesday, and they are another large step toward a new old era of trade protectionism. Assuming the policy sticks—and we hope it doesn’t—the effort amounts to an attempt to remake the U.S. economy and the world trading system. All details aren’t clear as we write this, but Mr. Trump’s tariffs look “reciprocal” in name only. First he’s hitting every nation in the world with a 10% “baseline” tariff to sell in the U.S. market. For those he calls “bad actors,” he’s adding up the country’s tariff rate on U.S. goods, plus...

U.S. stocks fell Friday morning, putting the S&P 500 on pace to extend its monthlong rout caused by trade policy turmoil, recession fears and a rollover in megacap technology shares. The S&P 500 fell 0.8%, while the Nasdaq Composite pulled back 1%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 321 points, or about 0.8%. Friday’s session is likely to be volatile, with options set to expire and President Donald Trump’s April 2 tariff deadline looming over the market. The S&P 500 is on pace for a 0.5% fall week to date, putting it on track for a five-week losing streak. The...

President Donald Trump said Tuesday he has ordered his administration to raise tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum imports by an additional 25%, bringing the total duties to 50%. Trump said he was imposing the latest tariffs in response to a decision by Ontario’s government to slap a 25% tax on electricity exports to the U.S. That move by Ontario Premier Doug Ford was itself issued in retaliation to the sweeping 25% tariffs that Trump had placed on imports from Canada. This is breaking news. Please refresh for updates.

A three-week market sell-off intensified on Monday, with investors worried that tariff policy uncertainty would tip the economy into a recession, something President Donald Trump did not rule out over the weekend in an interview. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 1,107 points, or 2.6% for its biggest decline of the year. The S&P 500 shed 3.4%, falling to the lowest level since September. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite saw the biggest selling of the major averages, falling 4.8% for its biggest decline since September 2022. The S&P 500 is off by 9.1% from its all-time high reached Feb. 19, the...

President Donald Trump declined to explicitly rule out a full-blown recession for the U.S. economy this year, telling Maria Bartiromo in a recent "Sunday Morning Futures" exclusive that the country will see a "period of transition" as his policies take effect. "I hate to predict things like that," he said of a recession. "There is a period of transition because what we're doing is very big. We're bringing wealth back to America. That's a big thing… it takes a little time, but I think it should be great for us." The president's comments come amid some business leaders' instability concerns...