Economics

KEY POINTS

Brussels and Berlin have launched a new initiative aimed at bypassing the long-standing paralysis of the World Trade Organization (WTO). But how viable is such a solution?

As Donald Trump cheered the passage of his self-styled, and officially named, Big Beautiful Budget Bill through Congress this week, long-sown seeds of doubt about the scale and sustainability of US borrowing from the rest of the world sprouted anew.

Donald Trump threatened to impose 17% tariffs on food and farm produce exports from Europe during talks in Washington this week, it has emerged.

As AI reshapes the labor market, the real threat may not be unemployment — it could be something subtler and more corrosive: the collapse in what skills are worth.

Economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal forecast that 110,000 new payrolls were added in June. That would be the fewest since February.

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Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said Tuesday that the U.S. central bank would have eased monetary policy by now if not for Donald Trump’s tariff plan.

Immigration enforcement operations on farms have left crops rotting and farm operations disrupted in major agricultural states including California, Texas, and Pennsylvania.

The US economy contracted in the beginning of the year at a much faster pace than previously reported, after new data factored in much weaker consumer spending.

Real-terms gains of $33.9tn for world’s richest 1% ‘enough to end annual global poverty 22 times over’, charity says

U.S. consumer confidence unexpectedly deteriorated in June as households increasingly worried about job availability, another indication that labor market conditions were softening against the backdrop of rising economic uncertainty because of the Trump administration's tariffs.

How well — or how poorly — Americans are managing their Buy Now, Pay Later loans soon could be reflected in their credit scores.

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Nippon Steel and U.S. Steel said Wednesday they have finalized their “historic partnership,” a year-and-a-half after the Japanese company first proposed its deal to buy the iconic American steelmaker for nearly $15 billion.

The U.S. Federal Reserve announced on Wednesday that it is not lowering interest rates, keeping them steady at 4.25 to 4.5%.

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Americans are feeling a hangover from their tariff-fueled buying frenzy early in the spring.

In a corner of Kentucky just outside of Louisville, family-owned shoe company Keen is opening a new factory this month.

Out of all 50 states, Massachusetts* finished at the top with an overall score of 70.84, beating second-place *Utah (69.18) by more than a point. As well as ranking first in terms of innovation potential, Massachusetts placed sixth in economic activity and 17th in economic health.

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Remote work, steep mortgage rates and new types of rental properties are fueling demand far from urban downtowns.

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“While everyone is focused on the impact of tariffs, the real story for the U.S. economy is the collapse in immigration: down more than 90% compared to the run rate of previous years, equivalent to a slowing in labour force growth of more than 2 million people,” George Saravelos, head of FX research at Deutsche Bank, wrote in a note on Friday. “This represents a far more sustained negative supply shock for the economy than tariffs.”

KEY POINTS

Premiums for consumers buying aluminium on the physical market in the United States hit a record 60 cents a lb or $1,323 a metric ton on Thursday after Donald Trump imposed higher tariffs on U.S. imports of the metal.