Transportation Economy News Updates

U.S. President Donald Trump may hope his tariffs on imported steel and aluminum will create new jobs, or at least protect existing ones. Researchers at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York said the opposite outcome was more likely.

U.S. filings for unemployment benefits fell to a three-week low, continuing a trend that indicates a tight labor market, Labor Department figures showed April 19.

New tariffs and concerns over widening trade disputes cast a shadow over the Federal Reserve’s most recent survey of U.S. businesses even as all 12 regions reported continued robust job growth with few signs of overheating.

John Williams, who will take the helm of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York in June, played down risks the yield curve would become inverted as the U.S. central bank gradually raises interest rates.

New-home construction rose by more than forecast in March on a rebound in multifamily starts, giving a boost to first-quarter economic growth, government figures showed April 17.

The International Monetary Fund predicted the world economy’s strongest upswing since 2011 will continue for the next two years but warned the seeds of its demise already may have been planted.

U.S. factory production cooled in March after surging a month earlier, representing a pause in an otherwise strong manufacturing sector, Federal Reserve data showed April 17.

The selloff in U.S. stocks deepened April 6 as the White House’s latest trade bluster rattled global financial markets.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said there is “a level of risk” that the tariff dispute between the United States and China will erupt into a full-scale trade war, though he’s “cautiously optimistic” that the world’s two largest economies will resolve differences through negotiations.

U.S. consumer debt rose in February by the least in five months as credit card balances stalled, indicating Americans’ appetite for borrowing waned further after a fourth- quarter shopping spree.