Us Economic Growth

Trump bets on tech, Saudi-backed AI investments to drive US economy

President Donald Trump is increasingly counting on the tech sector and the development of artificial intelligence to deliver on his economic agenda, a reality laid bare this week as he hosted Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. The crown prince has committed to invest USD 1 trillion with US companies, a pledge that is largely about using Saudi Arabia's oil and natural gas reserves to pivot his nation into becoming an AI data hub. We will work closely with friends and partners like those in this room to build the largest, most powerful, most innovative AI ecosystem in the world, Trump said at the US-Saudi Investment Forum on Wednesday. Sitting in the front row of the audience at the Kennedy Center were Nvidia co-founder Jensen Huang and tech billionaire Elon Musk. Trump took credit for the new investments and stock market performance this year both of which have been a function of the AI buildout. For all of Trump's claims that his tariffs are generating new investmen

US govt shutdown nears end, but would leave lasting impact on economy

The longest federal government shutdown in US history appears to be nearing an end, but not without leaving a mark on an already-struggling economy. About 1.25 million federal workers haven't been paid since October 1. Thousands of flights have been cancelled, a trend that is expected to continue this week even as Congress moves toward reopening the government. Government contract awards have slowed and some food aid recipients have seen their benefits interrupted. Most of the lost economic activity will be recovered when the government reopens, as federal workers will receive back pay. But some cancelled flights won't be retaken, missed restaurant meals won't be made up, and some postponed purchases will end up not happening at all. Short-lived shutdowns are usually invisible in the data, but this one will leave a lasting mark," Gregory Daco, chief economist at accounting giant EY said, "both because of its record length and the growing disruptions to welfare programs and travel.

Why the US economy might benefit from abandoning clean energy goals

By selling more fossil fuels and avoiding the expense of meeting green regulations, the US would see its GDP grow by about 1% more than it would have had it continued the clean energy transition

IMF more upbeat about US growth, but outlook dimmer than last year

The US and global economies will grow a bit more this year than previously forecast as the Trump administration's tariffs have so far proved less disruptive than expected, the International Monetary Fund said on Tuesday, though the agency also said the extensive duties still pose risks. The United States' economy will expand 2 per cent in 2025, the IMF projected in its influential semiannual forecast, the World Economic Outlook. That is slightly higher than the 1.9 per cent forecast in the IMF's last update in July and 1.8 per cent in April. The US should grow 2.1 per cent next year, also just one-tenth of a per cent faster than its previous projection, the IMF said. Its current forecasts are still down from a year ago, however, a sign that the international lending agency expects the tariffs to weaken the US economy, in part by creating more uncertainty for businesses. Last October, the IMF forecast the US would grow 2.2 per cent this year. All the projections also represent a ...

Trump tariffs get seal of approval as S&P affirms AA+ credit rating

The decision offers a glimmer of good news for Trump, who has pushed back against arguments that his historic program of tariffs will damage the US economy

US economy rebounds in second quarter; but underlying trend is soft

Gross domestic product increased at a 3.0 per cent annualized rate last quarter, the Commerce Department's Bureau of Economic Analysis said in its advance estimate of second-quarter GDP on Wednesday

US economy contracts 0.5% in Q1, worse than earlier two estimates

The US economy shrank at a 0.5 per cent annual pace from January through March as President Donald Trump's trade wars disrupted business, the Commerce Department reported Thursday in an unexpected deterioration of earlier estimates. First-quarter growth was weighed down by a surge of imports as US companies, and households, rushed to buy foreign goods before Trump could impose tariffs on them. The Commerce Department previously estimated that the economy fell 0.2 per cent in the first quarter. Economists had forecast no change in the department's third and final estimate. The January-March drop in gross domestic product the nation's output of goods and services reversed a 2.4 per cent increase in the last three months of 2024 and marked the first time in three years that the economy contracted. Imports expanded 37.9 per cent, fastest since 2020, and pushed GDP down by nearly 4.7 percentage points. Consumer spending also slowed sharply, expanding just 0.5 per cent, down from a robu

Trump tariffs to shrink US economic growth to 1.6%, global to 2.9%: OECD

The OECD notes that Trump's policies have raised average US tariff rates from around 2.5 per cent when he returned to the White House to 15.4 per cent, highest since 1938

Moody's US downgrade deepens investor fears over rising fiscal risks

The ratings agency cut America's pristine sovereign credit rating by one notch on Friday, the last of the major ratings agencies to downgrade the country

As US economy dips, why it means good business for India's exports

Surging trade deficit has had severest impact on America's GDP since 1947

US trade deficit swells to record high amid rush to beat tariffs in March

Economists polled by Reuters had forecast the trade deficit rising to $137.0 billion from the previously reported $122.7 billion in February

US economy shrinks 0.3% in Q1 as tariff-driven imports hit GDP growth

Gross domestic product decreased at a 0.3% annualized rate last quarter, the Commerce Department's Bureau of Economic Analysis said in its advance estimate of first-quarter GDP on Wednesday

US economy showed signs of weakness even before trade tensions escalated

The US government's initial estimate of first-quarter gross domestic product is projected to show the economy expanded at a 0.4 per cent annualised rate, the weakest in nearly three years

Meet Stephen Miran: Trump's economic advisor behind US reciprocal tariffs

Stephen Miran is considered the brains behind Trump's reciprocal tariffs that shook global markets. Here's a closer look at Miran and his views on US' economic and trade policies

Fed's Musalem sees growth slipping below trend, higher inflation risk

Higher prices from tariffs could lead to a one-time price shock that the Fed could largely look through in setting policy, though Musalem said he regarded that approach as risky

US consumer spending rises in Feb, likely driven by higher prices

Economists polled by Reuters had forecast consumer spending rising 0.5 per cent after a previously reported 0.2 per cent fall in January

US economy expands 2.4% in Q4 after upgrade; full year growth at 2.8%

The US economy expanded at a healthy annual 2.4 per cent pace the last three months of 2024, supported by a year-end surge in consumer spending, the government said Thursday in a slight upgrade of its previous estimate of fourth-quarter growth. But it's unclear whether the United States can sustain solid growth as President Donald Trump wages trade wars, purges the federal workforce and promises mass deportations of immigrants working in the country illegally. The Commerce Department said that growth in gross domestic product the nation's output of goods and services decelerated from a 3.1 per cent pace in July-September 2024. For all of 2024, the economy the world's biggest grew 2.8 per cent.

US manufacturing output accelerates in Feb on surge in motor vehicle output

Manufacturing, which accounts for 10.3 per cent of the economy, has been recovering as the US central bank started cutting interest rates in September

Asian shares slide as market selloff deepens on US economic growth worries

In Asia, it was a sea of red with Japan's Nikkei and Taiwan stocks sliding about 3 per cent, hitting their lowest level since September

US economic worries mount as Trump implements tariffs, cuts workforce

With his flurry of tariffs, government layoffs and spending freezes, there are growing worries President Donald Trump may be doing more to harm the US economy than to fix it. The labour market remains healthy with a 4.1 per cent unemployment rate and 151,000 jobs added in February, and Trump likes to point to investment commitments by Apple and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company to show that he's delivering results. But Friday's employment report also found that the number of people stuck working part-time because of economic circumstances jumped by 460,000 last month. In the leisure and hospitality sectors that reflect consumers having extra money to spend, 16,000 jobs were lost. And the federal government reduced its payrolls by 10,000 in a potential harbinger of the alarm being sounded by the stock market, consumer confidence and other measures of where the economy is headed. Since January, the economic policy uncertainty index has spiked 41 per cent to a level, 334.5, t