By Robert Romano President Donald Trump’s second year in office marked the strongest economic growth since 2005 at 2.9 percent, according to data compiled by the Bureau of Economic Analysis , beating every one of President Barack Obama’s years in office — for now. It was by a nose, and the numbers are still subject to revision. Obama’s strongest year was 2015, […]

By Rick Manning Protection of intellectual property is one of the primary stumbling blocks in the ongoing trade negotiations between the United States and China. It is not being hyperbolic to say that China’s long-standing and on-going demands that intellectual property rights be relinquished by businesses accessing […]

By Robert Romano Hollywood and other aspects of the entertainment industry including music and publishing tend to be very liberal institutions, it’s no mystery, and a lot of the content it produces often reflects that. Sometimes the messages are subtle and sometimes they are in your face […]

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By Robert Romano At the Feb. 13 hearing of the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Communications and Technology, the proposed merger of T-Mobile U.S., Inc. and Sprint Corporation was considered by members of Congress, with T-Mobile CEO John Legere and Sprint Executive Chairman Marcelo Claure testifying. By the far […]

By Robert Romano At the Feb. 5 State of the Union Address President Donald Trump once again appealed to both chambers of Congress to adopt the new United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) reciprocal trade deal that will replace the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). “Our new U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement — or USMCA — will replace […]

By Rick Manning Washington D.C. economy watchers were holding their collective breaths waiting for the Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics to release its January surveys measuring individual employment and business hiring reports and the results were somewhat predictable. A huge gain in jobs created in the […]

By Robert Romano Last month, China reported growth of its economy in 2018 at 6.6 percent , the lowest in 28 years. The slowdown is real enough but whether it results in a grand trade deal by the U.S. and China may depend on how much pain China is really feeling at the moment. Is Beijing feeling the […]

By Robert Romano The Congressional Budget Office estimates that the now-ended, month-long partial government shutdown cost the U.S. economy $3 billion of output in the fourth quarter of 2018, and $8 billion of output in the first quarter of 2019, respectively. It doesn’t matter. Of the amounts suggested, […]

By Robert Romano With a steady 1.9 percent unadjusted inflation rate for 2018 on the books, the Federal Reserve has paused interest rate hikes in its Jan. 30 meeting , and put future rate hikes in doubt with a call for “patience.” “In light of global economic and financial developments and muted inflation pressures, the Committee will be patient as it determines what future adjustments […]