TOKYO— The Canadian dollar and the Mexican peso rose and Japanese shares hit 27-year highs on Oct. 1 after the United States and Canada reached a framework deal to update the North American Free Trade Agreement. A Canadian source confirmed the two countries reached a deal, with Canada agreeing to a side-letter arrangement effectively capping […]

The fewest Americans asked for unemployment benefits since Spiro Agnew’s Des Moines address. In the week ending Sept. 15, Americans made 201,000 initial unemployment insurance claims. That’s 3,000 less than the week before, and the lowest since the week ending Nov. 15, 1969, when it was 197,000, the Department of Labor (DOL) stated in a […]

WASHINGTON—The state of the economy plays a crucial role in driving electoral outcomes. However, it remains to be seen whether Republicans can hone their midterm message enough to turn the currently booming economy into a political victory this fall, according to political analysts. Economic growth climbed above 4 percent in the second quarter, while the […]

Just 12 percent of Americans mentioned some part of the economy as the top problem facing the United States, according to a Gallup survey conducted earlier this month. That’s down from 17 percent last month and is a record low since economic issues were first included in the poll. The polling company has been asking […]

News Analysis The stock of TAL Education Group, a New York-listed company that provides after-school tutoring for Chinese students, dropped more than 40 percent from June 12 to Sept. 7. The impetus? Noted short seller Carson Block’s Muddy Waters Research LLC released a report June 13 that alleged the China-based company had been fraudulently overstating […]

An expert on global competitiveness sees the recently passed National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) as bringing a more holistic approach to the defense of the United States. “The National Defense Authorization Act is a recognition at all levels of the economy from the supply chains to the defense industrial base to military deployment that we […]

Average hourly earnings of Americans increased to $27.16 in August, 10 cents up from the months before and more than 2.9 percent up from August 2017, according to data reported on Sept. 7 by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). “In our view, the biggest news in this morning’s report was the jump in average […]

DUBAI—Growth in Saudi Arabia’s non-oil private sector edged up in August to its fastest rate this year, a survey of companies showed on Sep. 4, suggesting a long-awaited recovery of the economy may have begun. The economy has been hit hard in the last few years by low oil prices and government austerity, but the […]

Hundreds of pensioners lined up outside banks and even blocked main roads in the Venezuelan capital of Caracas on Sep. 1 to demand monthly benefits in this South American country suffering from hyperinflation. The retirees and others living on pensions arrived at banks in the early hours on Sep. 1 carrying umbrellas and small chairs […]

President Donald Trump, citing “our nation’s fiscal situation,” announced that a pay boost for civilian federal employees that was to begin in January won’t go into effect. Under the current law, federal employees would have gotten an across-the-board increase of 2.1 percent starting in January 2019. Employees who also get an adjustment based on their […]

Confidence in the U.S. economy rose by 5.5 points in August to reach the highest it’s been since October 2000, according to an Aug. 28 report by the nonprofit Conference Board. People’s confidence in the present situation improved by 6.1 points, while expectations for the future increased by 5.2 points, the board’s Consumer Confidence Index […]

Stephen Moore, the distinguished visiting fellow at The Heritage Foundation’s Project for Economic Growth, sat down with NTD, part of the Epoch Media Group, to discuss the trade war with China. NTD: At a public hearing held by the United States International Trade Commission on President Donald Trump’s tariffs on Chinese goods, companies testified that they […]

CARACAS/VALENCIA, Venezuela—Venezuela on Aug. 20 slashed five zeros from prices as part of a broad economic plan that President Nicolas Maduro says will tame hyperinflation but critics call another raft of failed socialist policies that will push the chaotic country deeper into crisis. Streets were quiet and shops were closed due to a national holiday […]

PUNTO FIJO/SAN CRISTOBAL, Venezuela—After Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro’s 60-fold increase to the minimum wage, storeowners on Aug. 18 wrestled with an anguishing decision: Close up shop or hit customers with steep price hikes at the risk of sinking the business. In a set of sweeping announcements that shocked many Venezuelans, the socialist Maduro on Aug. […]

SYDNEY—Australia’s top central banker made an explicit case on Aug. 17 for rates to remain at record lows for some time yet as inflation stays lukewarm while there is still some spare capacity in the labor market. “The Board’s view is that it is likely that we will hold steady for a while yet,” Reserve […]

James Altucher knows a lot about being a student. A lifelong learner, he went to university to study computer science and later taught himself to be a successful investor and entrepreneur. In his investments, Altucher frequently manages to discover hidden aspects of a company or a sector and turn a tidy profit. Looking at the U.S. […]

The North Korean economy shrank 3.5 percent last year, according to a report released on Friday, July 20, by South Korea’s central bank. It was the biggest drop-off since 1997, when North Korea’s Gross Domestic Production (GDP) decreased sharply by 6.5 percent. In contrast, the economy of the democratically governed, South Korea grew by 3.1 […]

When the world economy is faring reasonably well—like at this moment, with growth at 3.5 percent—economists tend to concentrate on the bad news and hurry to predict the timing of the next recession. In May 2018, for example, about 80 percent of the economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal predicted the world economy will be in […]

Typical economic cycles last about seven years. Since the 2008 financial crisis, we have seen continuous growth in the global economy. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) even forecasts global growth of 3.9 percent for this year and next. We would like to believe that these are realistic predictions and not wishful thinking, but economic forecasts […]

The consumer confidence index declined slightly in June, after a solid gain the previous month, according to nonprofit association The Conference Board. The index dropped to 126.4 this month from a revised 128.8 in May. “Consumers’ assessment of present-day conditions was relatively unchanged, suggesting that the level of economic growth remains strong,” stated Lynn Franco, […]