FOMC STATEMENT: NO RATE CHANGE; EXPORTS, BIZ INVESTMENT ‘WEAK’
WASHINGTON (MaceNews) – The Federal Open Market Committee’s decision Wednesday was entirely as expected, with no rate change and a “dot plot” that anticipated no rate change next year either. The policy statement follows, with boldface emphasis added: Information received since the Federal Open Market Committee met in October indicates that the labor market remains […]
ANALYSIS: IN THE TUG OF WAR OF PRICES, SHELTER ALWAYS WINS IN THE END
By Denny Gulino WASHINGTON (MaceNews) – The November Consumer Price Index report, largely dismissed Wednesday as a ho-hum confirmation of price pressure stasis, nevertheless contained some hints as to what may be ahead, a slowly gathering upwelling of costs concentrated in housing and transport. The annualized core items index rose 2.3% through November, a duplicate […]
WHITE HOUSE WATCH: TRUMP VICTORY ON NEW NAFTA PENDING
By Denny Gulino THE WHITE HOUSE (MaceNews) – The US-Mexico-Canada trade deal, a major achievement of the Trump administration, is much closer to starting the 90-day countdown to final ratification among the three countries, having finally overcome political, labor and technical hurdles. It is the biggest accomplishment for the Trump White House so far and, […]
WASHINGTON WATCH: YEAR-END BARNACLES ACCUMULATE ON SHIP OF STATE
By Denny Gulino THE WHITE HOUSE (MaceNews) – As time suddenly is about to run out for 2019, government funding, USMCA, the China trade deal and the expected Senate impeachment trial look like calendar items for 2020. And with a jobs report like the one published earlier Friday, who cares? For once stock markets had […]
NOV JOBS RPT BLOWOUT RESETS ECONOMIC NARRATIVE – AGAIN
–Payrolls +266,000; Sept/Oct Revised +41K; Unemp Rate 3.5%; Annual Wages +3.1% By Denny Gulino WASHINGTON (MaceNews) – The November job report’s 266,000 payrolls surge Friday exceeded all expectations even without counting the end of the GM strike, challenging the view that the long and somewhat subdued economic expansion should be showing signs of exhaustion. The […]
US TSY, OTHERS, SANCTION RUSSIA BANK MALWARE OPERATION
WASHINGTON (MaceNews) – The U.S. Treasury Department and the finance ministries of the UK, Canada and several other countries, Thursday sanctioned a Russian malware operation that it says has cost 300 financial institutions and their customers hundreds of millions of dollars. In a conference call with reporters, senior Treasury officials described the operation as primarily […]
POOL REPORTS: TRUMP VISITS AFGHANISTAN FOR THANKSGIVING
WASHINGTON (MaceNews: The following are pool reports filed Thursday from Bagram Air Field in Afghanistan by pool reporter Anita Kumar of Politico, aided by Michael Crowley of The New York Times: Bagram Air Field, Afghanistan November 28, 2019 POTUS has landed at Bagram Air Field, the largest U.S. base in Afghanistan. He is expected to be on the […]
FED’S POWELL: US ECONOMIC CONDITIONS ‘GENERALLY GOOD’
By Jerry Kronenberg PROVIDENCE, R.I. (MaceNews) – Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said Monday that the U.S. economy’s “glass” is “much more than half full – [and] with the right policies, we can fill it further.” “Monetary policy is now well positioned to support a strong labor market and return inflation decisively to our symmetric […]
WHITE HOUSE WATCH: HOW TO DEFINE ‘PRESIDE?’
By Denny Gulino THE WHITE HOUSE (MaceNews) – Monday at the White House meant welcoming in the Rose Garden Conan, the dog that chased doomed ISIS leader Baghdadi into his dead-end tunnel. Then, in the Oval Office, there was the prime minister of Bulgaria. Lunch with the Vice President was on the schedule. A meeting […]
WHITE HOUSE WATCH: OF FRESH LAWN AND VEILED THREATS By Denny Gulino THE WHITE HOUSE (MaceNews) – It’s quiet here in the White House press room this Friday evening after an eventful week. So end of story. After all, you watched the impeachment inquiry sessions, perhaps checked out the dozen or so Twitter feeds you […]