|
The Latest on the Economy
|
|
|
What to Watch in the GDP Report: How 2023 Defied Recession Fear
|
|
The U.S. economy grew at a solid pace in the fourth quarter of 2023, forecasters say, capping a year in which widespread recession fears were allayed by persistent hiring and resilient consumers. Economists surveyed by the WSJ estimate gross domestic product grew at an annual rate of 2% in the fourth quarter from the third. Consumer spending, which accounts for about two-thirds of economic output, is seen as the driver of continued growth. WSJ's Gabriel T. Rubin has what to watch in today's GDP report—and what it will tell us about the economy this year.
|
|
|
|
Insurers Rake In Profits as Customers Pay Soaring Premiums
|
|
The pain for home- and auto-insurance customers is quickly becoming investors’ gain. Insurance giants’ shares and profits are hitting records, thanks in part to steep rate hikes. Shares of Travelers, a bellwether for the property and casualty sector, closed at an all-time high earlier this week. Progressive said Wednesday that its quarterly profit more than doubled from a year earlier. The industry’s stock-market sizzle contrasts with the experience of millions of homeowners and drivers facing sharply higher prices and reduced coverage, Jean Eaglesham reports.
|
|
|
|
Trumponomics 2.0: Less Tax Tailwind, More Trade Turmoil
|
|
Many voters are prepared to give Donald Trump a second term for one simple reason: They think he managed the economy better than President Biden has. But the economic agenda Trump would bring to a second term will be very different from the first. Then, as now, Trump’s strongest economic conviction is in protectionism. In his first term, though, that was overshadowed by a sweeping tax overhaul. In his second term, no such tax plan is waiting in the wings. Instead, Trump wants to expand the trade war he started six years ago. The tit-for-tat retaliation, higher costs, and supply-chain disruptions make for a less benign landscape than what prevailed before the Covid-19 pandemic hit in 2020, Greg Ip writes.
-
Trump’s Golf-Course Tax Break Could Reach $323 Million (Read)
-
🎧 Take on the Week: How the White House Is Prioritizing Economic Policies for 2024 (Listen)
|
|
|
|
The Fed Risks Getting Caught Up in Politics, Whatever It Does
|
|
The problem with being independent of politics is that appearances matter. You don’t have to just be independent, you must also appear to be independent—even if that changes what you might otherwise do. Many investors think the Federal Reserve might be pushed to do exactly that, lowering interest rates in March to get the rate-cutting cycle started before the election campaigns really get going. WSJ's James Mackintosh looks at one big reason investors are debating the timing and scale of interest rate cuts this election year.
|
|
-
Bank of Canada Leaves Rates Unchanged, Frets About Core Inflation’s ‘Persistence’ (Read)
|
|
|
|
Chipotle Plans to Offer New Benefits to Draw Younger Workers for Burrito Season
|
|
Chipotle Mexican Grill said it plans to hire 19,000 workers to keep up with what it calls burrito season, and would offer new benefits to attract Gen Z workers during its March to May surge in demand. Chipotle plans to match up to 4% of an employee’s salary through 401(k) contributions if they make student loan payments, to cover six free mental-health counseling sessions and offer workers access to a special credit card, Alyssa Lukpat reports.
|
|
|
|
How One Company Hoovered Up $3 Billion in Broadband Subsidies
|
|
The federal government has spent $12.82 billion in the last two years helping low-income households pay for internet service. Almost a quarter of it has gone to one company. Charter Communications received $3.01 billion through the Affordable Connectivity Program, according to a WSJ analysis, a larger slice than any of its competitors. Charter’s use of the program has come to the attention of regulators, who are examining some of its practices, Ryan Tracy and Patience Haggin report.
|
|
|
|
The Wall Street Journal’s Evan Gershkovich is being wrongfully detained in Russia after he was arrested while on a reporting trip and accused of spying—a charge the Journal and the U.S. government vehemently deny. Follow the latest coverage, sign up for an email alert, and learn how you can use social media to
support Evan.
|
|
|
|
Real Time Economics comes to you from WSJ reporters and editors around the world. Today's issue was curated and edited by Jeff Sparshott (@jeffsparshott) and Greg Ip (@greg_ip) in Washington, D.C., and editors in London.
|
|
How are we doing? Please send us any questions, comments or suggestions by replying to this email. Thank you.
|
|
|
|