Inflation Kept in Check in February
Investors breathed a sigh of relief after February's small increase in consumer prices were released, easing concerns over inflation and faster interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve. The consumer price index rose by 0.2 percent, right in line with economist...
Tariffs unlikely to reduce increasing U.S. trade deficit
The U.S. trade deficit is the highest it has been in nearly 10 years, signaling strong consumer demand as imports continue to outpace exports. President Donald Trump brought the ever-widening trade deficit to the forefront of national discussion last week after...
National Case-Shiller Indices grow 6.3 percent, continuing a steady increase in housing prices
Photo credit National home prices are continuing to grow due to low construction rates and few homes being put on the market. Home prices grew 6.3 percent in December, according to new data from the Case-Shiller indices released on Tues. Feb. 27, 2018. This number was...
Personal income gets a tax cut bump
Personal income rose in January to reflect the reduced tax rates of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, increasing the American savings rate for the first time in months. The 0.4 percent increase in January slightly exceeded an economist median estimate of 0.3 percent....
Retail sales slow in January, driven by decrease in auto sales
Retail sales declined in January, failing to meet analysts’ expectations that growth would hold steady going into 2018 and signaling more cautious consumer spending. The monthly report from the U.S. Census bureau showed a 0.3 percent decrease in retail sales from...
U.S. Consumer Prices Higher Than Projected Shows Signs of Budding Inflation
U.S. consumer prices rose more than expected in January due to gasoline, shelter and medical care, raising concerns that inflation is picking up and interest rates will follow. The consumer price index rose by 0.5 percent in January, exceeding the economist median...
Canadian Lumber Tariffs Don’t Make America Great, They Make It More Expensive
President Trump has proposed a tariff on Canadian softwood lumber, but American lumber is becoming more expensive as a result. The new timber tariff proposed by the president – an almost 20% tax on softwood lumber imported from Canada - may sound beneficial for...
Autonomous Cars Are All Fun and Games…Until There’s an Accident, Hacking and Lawsuits
Freely roaming an open world, with fire arms, speeding down highways throughout the streets of New York might not fully be reality in city but it’s certainly the case in the video game Grand Theft Auto IV, which is being used to advance real life driverless cars....
Examining Regulations Under Trump
Depending on what side of the aisle you’re on, government regulations can be seen as necessary measures to roll back abuses in certain industries or job killer that stifles businesses and slows the economy. President Trump believes the latter and has promised to roll...
Visa Reform Could Bust Manufacturing
Five years ago, Rishvanth Kora, 31, was about to finish a graduate program in electrical engineering at the University of Kentucky, when he finally got a job offer. The Fortune 500 manufacturing company Cummins wanted a worker with an advanced engineering degree badly...