A new International Monetary Fund (IMF) report spotlights trouble in the private lending sector. More than 40% of the companies who borrowed from private lenders had, at the end of 2024, negative cash flow from their operations, the IMF’s Global Financial Stability report said. The...
Do the math. A staggering $92 billion could vanish from the American economy annually as consumers tighten their belts in response to the economic uncertainty created by the Trump administration’s global trade policies. As Karen Webster noted in a recent column, this isn’t a projection...
Major U.S. corporate leaders are raising serious concerns that President Trump’s constantly shifting tariff policies are spooking consumers and throwing business planning into disarray, according to a Wall Street Journal report. The CEOs of companies like American Airlines, PepsiCo, and Procter & Gamble have warned...
Businesses may be feeling cautious because of uncertainty around tariffs, but they are generally not laying off workers. While the number of initial claims for unemployment insurance in the United States rose during the week ended Saturday (April 19), it remained “relatively subdued” and pointed...
Perhaps the best, or most positive, finding in the Federal Reserve’s latest qualitative survey of the economy and its prospects boils down to this: Economic activity, at least as measured in March, was mixed. In other words, things could have been worse. But across the...
Prices charged for goods and services rose at the sharpest rate seen in 13 months in April, with tariffs driving an especially steep increase in prices of manufactured goods, S&P Global said Wednesday (April 23). The rate of inflation in manufacturing hit a 29-month high,...
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said Wednesday (April 23) that the world’s governments should not let their support for those impacted by tariffs add to their already growing level of debt. “Fiscal support for businesses and communities impacted by severe trade dislocations should be both temporary...
Companies have reportedly put their initial public offering (IPO) plans on hold amid the market chaos caused by the announcements of new U.S. tariffs that began April 2. Together with a slowdown in activity seen in the mergers and acquisitions (M&A) market, preparations for IPOs...
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) reduced its forecast for economic growth in the United States in 2025 amid tariffs and escalating trade tensions. In its World Economic Outlook released Tuesday (April 22), the IMF projected U.S. GDP growth at 1.8%, down from its January estimate of...