World

US economy adds 119,000 jobs in September as unemployment rate rises
20Nov mmBy Michael SmithNo Comments
USA, World

US economy adds 119,000 jobs in September as unemployment rate rises

United States job growth accelerated in September despite a cooling job market as the unemployment rate rose. Nonfarm payrolls grew by 119,000 jobs after a downwardly revised 4,000 drop in August, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) report released on Thursday. The unemployment rate rose to 4.4 percent, up from 4.3 percent in August. The healthcare sector had the most gains, totalling 43,000 jobs in September. Food and beverage services sectors followed, adding 37,000 jobs, and social assistance employment grew by 14,000. Other sectors saw little change, including construction, wholesale trade, retail services, as well as professional and business services. The federal workforce saw a decline of 3,000, marking 97,000 jobs cut from the nation’s largest empl...
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China-US ties find ‘stable equilibrium’ but tech disruptions loom: financial leaders
4Nov mmBy Joe RodriguezNo Comments
China, USA, World

China-US ties find ‘stable equilibrium’ but tech disruptions loom: financial leaders

Global trade tensions, stoked by China-US tariffs, are settling into a steadier balance as the world braces for fresh challenges from rapid technological disruptions, financial leaders said on Tuesday at a summit in Hong Kong. The China-US relationship had entered into a more “stable equilibrium” after last week’s talks between the leaders of the world’s two biggest economies, despite the noise on the surface over tariffs and other trade disputes, said William Ford, chairman and CEO of US private equity firm General Atlantic, at the Global Financial Leaders’ Investment Summit. “Below the water line, there was actually a much more constructive engagement, as evidenced by [US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent] and some of the Chinese leaders in their five m...
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Banking shares’ wobbles reveal growing unease over credit risks
18Oct mmBy Walter ParezNo Comments
Market, USA, World

Banking shares’ wobbles reveal growing unease over credit risks

A clutch of bad loans at banks in recent weeks has shaken investor confidence in banking shares, which gyrated sharply late this week as unease mounted over credit risks that threatened to spill into the broader markets. The markets have weathered a string of credit scares and surprise write-downs over the past two years, but sentiment took a particularly hard knock in recent days from auto bankruptcies and alleged fraud that resulted in losses at several banks. The latest scare came on Thursday when Zions Bancorporation (ZION.O), opens new tab disclosed losses tied to two commercial and industrial loans and Western Alliance (WAL.N), opens new tab said it had initiated a lawsuit alleging fraud by Cantor Group V, LLC. Cantor denies the allegatio...
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Trump’s economic rivalry with China is forcing countries to pick a side
27Sep mmBy Joe RodriguezNo Comments
Asia, China, USA, World

Trump’s economic rivalry with China is forcing countries to pick a side

Globalization is dead, at least that’s the verdict of a seemingly endless stream of commentators. But as ever in economics, the story isn’t quite so simple. The prevailing account runs something like this: tariffs first introduced by President Trump, kept in place by President Biden and now turbocharged in Trump’s second term, signal a new age of economic nationalism. According to this view, we are witnessing the start of a grand retreat from the open trading system that has defined the past few decades. The world is turning inwards, and the era of global integration is drawing to a close. But this story doesn’t sit comfortably with the facts. Far from collapsing, global trade volumes have continued to rise and today sit near record highs. If this is the dawn of deglobalization, it...
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China’s economy and its influence on global markets
23Aug mmBy Joe RodriguezNo Comments
China, USA, World

China’s economy and its influence on global markets

China remains among the largest global economies, but it faces significant economic headwinds. The country’s real gross domestic product (GDP) growth, a common economic activity measure, slowed from double-digit annual increases during the 2000s to 5.3% in this year’s second quarter. Nevertheless, China remains a major global trading partner and ranks as the second-largest economy worldwide, trailing only the United States.  ’s agenda emphasizes reframing Chinese trade relations. To reduce dependence on Chinese-made goods and promote domestic manufacturing, President Trump implemented varying  on Chinese imports. Early in the new administration, the U.S. added 10% tariffs to China. That quickly doubled to 20% and eventually totaled 145%, threatening to cripple trade ...
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After job reports suggested possible problems, Trump used graphs to argue that the US economy is doing well.
9Aug mmBy Brian ThompsonNo Comments
USA, World

After job reports suggested possible problems, Trump used graphs to argue that the US economy is doing well.

President Donald Trump unexpectedly summoned reporters to the Oval Office on Thursday to present them with charts that he says show the U.S. economy is solid following a jobs report last week that raised red flags and led to the Republican firing the head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Joining Trump to talk about the economy was Stephen Moore, a senior visiting fellow in economics at the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank, and the co-author of the 2018 book “ Trumponomics.” Flipping through a series of charts on an easel, Moore sought to elevate Trump’s performance as president and diminish the economic track record of former President Joe Biden. Trump stood next to Moore and interjected with approvals. The moment in the Oval Office spoke to the president’s ho...
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As the US economy begins to struggle, new taxes on imports, put in place by Trump, are starting.
8Aug mmBy Brian ThompsonNo Comments
USA, World

As the US economy begins to struggle, new taxes on imports, put in place by Trump, are starting.

US President Donald Trump began imposing higher import taxes on dozens of countries Thursday just as the economic fallout of his monthslong tariff threats has begun to cause visible damage to the American economy. Just after midnight, goods from more than 60 countries and the European Union became subject to tariff rates of 10% or higher. Products from the EU, Japan and South Korea are taxed at 15%, while imports from Taiwan, Vietnam and Bangladesh are taxed at 20%. Trump also expects the EU, Japan and South Korea to invest hundreds of billions of dollars in the United States. “I think the growth is going to be unprecedented,” Trump said Wednesday. He said the US was “taking in hundreds of billions of dollars in tariffs,” but did not provide a specific figure for revenues bec...
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China optimizes foreign exchange reserve structure
21Jul mmBy Brian ThompsonNo Comments
Asia, China, World

China optimizes foreign exchange reserve structure

Nation likely to increase investments in non-dollar assets, say economists Economists and policy advisers have said that it is a strategic necessity for China to further scale back holdings in United States government debt in order to safeguard national financial stability, amid waning confidence in the dollar-based system and persistent geopolitical tensions. To pursue a more balanced, controllable allocation of foreign exchange reserves, the country is also likely to increase investments in non-dollar assets, including financial instruments of its Asian trading partners and crucial resources such as gold, energy and food, they added. Yu Yongding, an academic member of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, called for China to continue reducing US government debt holdings i...
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<strong>WHY USA’s TARIFFS ON CHINA MAKE SENSE?</strong>
16May mmBy Michael SmithNo Comments
China, USA, World

WHY USA’s TARIFFS ON CHINA MAKE SENSE?

China’s economic ascent has been propelled not by a level playing field but by comprehensive state intervention that skews markets in favor of domestic champions. In April 2025, data from China’s General Administration of Customs revealed a 21 percent year-on-year drop in Chinese exports to the United States—an abrupt decline directly linked to U.S. tariffs soaring as high as 145 percent—while Beijing sought to reroute shipments to other global markets. The United States Trade Representative’s 2024 Report to Congress documents China’s chronic non-compliance with WTO obligations, highlighting opaque procurement rules, forced technology transfers, and hidden subsidies to state-owned enterprises that produce goods at below-cost prices to undercut foreign competitors. These tactics inflat...
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Russia’s Wartime Economy: Following Ukraine Internationally?
26Mar mmBy Walter ParezNo Comments
Market, World

Russia’s Wartime Economy: Following Ukraine Internationally?

Three years into the Ukraine war, Russia’s wartime economy appears not only to be surviving Western sanctions, but thriving — driven by oil revenues, surging military production, and a broader economic reorientation toward war. While much of the world expected Russia to collapse under the weight of its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the opposite occurred: the Russian economy grew by 3.6% in 2023 and an even higher 4.1% in 2024, outpacing most Western nations. Yet this is not a sustainable economic model for the long term. Growth is heavily militarized and sustained by wartime spending, making it fiscally unsustainable. Inflation has also ticked upward amid rampant state spending, creating a cost-of-living crisis that won’t be easily reversed. Transitioning the Russian wartime economy ...
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