by Mark Chandik | Apr 7, 2025
Reciprocal tariffs were announced Wednesday afternoon. In most cases, they are far higher than expected and varied considerably. Vietnam at 46%, the European Union at 20%, China at 54% (20% existing + 34% reciprocal), and the United Kingdom at 10%, according to the...
by Mark Chandik | Apr 4, 2025
Two days ago, the White House announced massive tariffs on virtually every other country. Here are a few thoughts, in no particular order and written with our best effort at restraint, on one of the largest tax hikes in U.S. history: The odds of a recession are...
by Mark Chandik | Mar 31, 2025
Over the past month, we have approached the issue of tariffs from the market’s perspective, specifically that of investors. Let’s take a different approach today. We’ll examine the issue from the perspective of domestic manufacturers and manufacturing workers....
by Mark Chandik | Mar 24, 2025
The Federal Reserve held its key rate, the fed funds rate, at 4.25 – 4.50% as expected. But Fed officials downgraded the economic outlook for 2025 and raised its forecast for inflation (again) in its quarterly Summary of Economic Projections. Why was the...
by Mark Chandik | Mar 17, 2025
The February Consumer Price Index came in softer than expected, rising 0.2%, according to the U.S. BLS. The core CPI, which excludes food and energy, also rose 0.2%. The core CPI slowed to an annual rate of 3.1% from 3.3% in January. February’s rate was the slowest...
by Mark Chandik | Mar 10, 2025
“The new Administration is in the process of implementing significant policy changes in four distinct areas: trade, immigration, fiscal policy, and regulation. It is the net effect of these policy changes that will matter for the economy and for the path of monetary...
