Page 37 - Us Economy

US budget deficit debt to hit $3.3 trillion, bigger than its economy's size

The spike in the deficit means that federal debt will exceed annual gross domestic product next year

World Coronavirus Dispatch: Students across globe returning to classrooms

Boris Johnson earmarks £500 mn for mass rapid testing, Sanofi starts trials of vaccine, Steroids could reduce deaths by a third, and other pandemic-related news across the globe

US recovery, slow and uneven, is hampered by 'uncertainty': Fed survey

The Fed, in its "Beige Book" report, highlighted the uneven rebound underway in the US economy

US: Budget deficit to hit record $3.3 trillion due to Covid-19, recession

The USD 3.3 trillion figure is more than triple the 2019 shortfall and more than double the levels experienced after the market meltdown and Great Recession of 2008-09.

New monetary policy framework critical, robust evolution: US Fed vice chair

The Fed's new framework noted that policy decisions going forward will be based on the FOMC's estimates of "shortfalls of employment from its maximum level,"

Global Economy: Asian factories shaking off Covid-19 gloom, China shines

Manufacturing activity in China expanded at the fastest clip in nearly a decade in August, as factories ramped up output to meet rebounding demand

Wall Street mixed as S&P 500 on track for best August in 36 years

New entrants to the blue-chip index, Salesforce.com Inc , Honeywell International Inc and Amgen Inc , slipped between 0.3% and 1.2%

US economy sees revival, consumer spending rises a moderate 1.9% in July

US consumers increased their spending by 1.9% last month, a dose of support for an economy struggling to emerge from a pandemic that has held back recovery and kept roughly 27 million people jobless

Markets higher as Fed chair says interest rates to stay low

Asian markets were mostly higher on Friday after the Federal Reserve said it might keep interest rates low even if inflation rises, in a major overhaul to its strategy. Shares rose in Japan, South Korea, Shanghai and Hong Kong but fell in Sydney. Overnight, the S&P 500 ticked 0.2% higher, further into record territory and closing at 3,484.55, after Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell said in a speech that it might keep interest rates low to help prop up the pandemic ravaged economy even if inflation rises above its target level of 2%. The hoped for change in the Fed's strategy is a huge deal for markets that have been rescued by central banks slashing short-term interest rates and buying all kinds of bonds. Japan's consumer price index rose 0.3% in July, the government reported, down from 0.6% the month before. The Bank of Japan has kept interest rates near or even below zero for most of the past decade, seeking to spur inflation and entice companies and consumers to spend more. .

Ultra-rich US investors hoard cash as economy fears over Covid-19 grow

The economic hit from the pandemic has failed to put a halt to rising stock prices

Jerome Powell targets 2% average inflation, focus shifts to jobs

Fed's new approach would allow for prices to overshoot target

The weak dollar: Why it won't be replaced as global reserve currency

For international investors in general, currency risk - above all the weakening of the US dollar - has become the most important financial risk of the year

Oil prices up on storm-hit US output and Covid-19 treatment hopes

Brent crude was up 53 cents, or 1.2%, at $44.88 a barrel by 11:22 a.m. EDT (1522 GMT). U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude rose 28 cents, or 0.7%, to $42.62

How starving public health in US fuelled a Covid-19 fire in Florida

On a sweltering July morning, Rose Wilson struggled to breathe as she sat in her bed, the light from her computer illuminating her face and the oxygen tubes in her nose. Wilson, a retiree who worked as a public health department nurse supervisor in Duval County for 35 years, had just been diagnosed with COVID-19-induced pneumonia. She had a telemedicine appointment with her doctor. Staring back from her screen was Dr Rogers Cain, who runs a tidy little family medical clinic a couple of blocks from the Trout River in north Jacksonville, a predominantly Black area where the coronavirus is running roughshod. Wilson, 81, was one of Cain's patients who'd tested positive he had seven other COVID patients that morning before noon. Three of her grown children had contracted the virus, too. Cain and Wilson are nervous. Over the past two decades, both watched as the county health department was gutted of money and people, hampering Duval's ability to respond to outbreaks, including a small .

In interview Donald Trump threatens to decouple US economy from China

Trump entered into a high-stakes trade war with China before reaching a partial phase 1 trade deal in January

Signs of recovery? US business activity accelerates, home sales surge

(Reuters) - In signs an economic recovery may be picking up speed, U.S. home sales rose at a record rate for a second straight month in July, and purchasing managers in both the manufacturing and services sectors report business activity has accelerated at a brisker-than-expected pace this month.

US jobless claims jump back above 1 mn as Covid-19 pulls down economy

Jobless claims had fallen last week below 1 million for the first time since March, to 971,000

Will give tax incentives to companies bringing jobs to US from China: Trump

The US President also threatened to strip companies of federal contacts if they outsource manufacturing abroad

Trump policies boon to super rich. So where are 7-figure cheques?

Only a fraction of the president's top donors have given as much to his re-election effort

US economy is reliant on consumer spending: Can it survive Covid-19?

Today's consumer society emerged after the end of World War I, fueled by the emergence of the modern advertising industry and facilitated by widespread adoption of consumer credit