• Unemployment Claims Fall as Layoffs Remain Low
  
  Fewer Americans applied for unemployment benefits last week as U.S. layoffs remain low despite growing concern about a weakening job market.
• Trump: I Have No Plan to Fire Powell
  
  U.S. President Donald Trump said he has no plans to fire Jerome Powell despite a Justice Department criminal investigation into the Federal Reserve chair, but it was "too early" to say what he would ultimately do.
• US Healthcare Spending Soared to $5 Trillion in 2024
  
  U.S. healthcare spending rose by 7.2% to $5.3 trillion in 2024 from $4.9 trillion in 2023, driven by increased health insurance enrollment and a jump in use of medical services, particularly in private health insurance plans, the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid...
• Trump Team Completes $500M Venezuela Oil Sale
  
  The U.S. has completed its first sales of Venezuelan oil under a new Trump-era arrangement valued at about $500 million. The proceeds are being held in U.S.-controlled accounts, including a main one in Qatar.
• Fed: US Economic Activity Rose in Recent Weeks
  
  Economic activity increased in most parts of the U.S. and employment was mostly unchanged in recent weeks, the Federal Reserve said Wednesday in a report that may do little to sway policymakers' interest rate views ahead of the central bank's meeting in two weeks.
• Greenland Acquisition Cost US Up to $700 Billion
  
  The United States could be looking at a bill as high as $700 billion if it tried to fulfill President Donald Trump's long-stated goal of buying Greenland, according to three people familiar with a cost estimate developed for planning purposes.
• Bipartisan Deal Pushes $50B in Foreign Aid Spending
  
  Republicans struck a bipartisan, bicameral funding deal with Democrats to send roughly $50 billion overseas, defying DOGE-backed spending cuts and President Donald Trump's push to dismantle the U.S. Agency for International Development, Foreign Policy reported.
• 2025 US Home Sales Stuck at 30-Year Low
  
  The U.S. housing market slump dragged into its fourth year in 2025 as sales remained stuck at a 30-year low with rising home prices and elevated mortgage rates keeping many prospective home shoppers out of the market.
• US Existing Home Sales Accelerate in December
  
  U.S. existing home sales accelerated in December, boosted by lower mortgage rates and slow growth in house prices.Home sales jumped 5.1% last month to a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 4.35 million units, the National Association of Realtors said on Wednesday.Economists...
• Wholesale Inflation Ticks up a Mild 0.2% in November
  
  U.S. wholesale prices rose modestly in November, the government said in report delayed by the federal government shutdown.
• US Retail Sales Beat Expectations in November
  
  U.S. retail sales increased more than expected in November as motor vehicle purchases rebounded and households increased spending elsewhere, pointing to solid economic growth in the fourth quarter.
• Trump Takes on Cost-of-Living Crisis
  
  President Trump's ideas to lower costs and boost spending power could reshape housing, energy, and finance.
• China's Trade Surplus Surges 20% to a Record $1.2T
  
  China's trade surplus surged to a record of almost $1.2 trillion in 2025, the government said Wednesday, as exports to other countries made up for slowing shipments to the U.S. under President Donald Trump's onslaught of higher tariffs.
• US Posts Record $145B Dec. Deficit as Outlays Outpace Receipts
  
  The U.S. government posted a $145 billion budget deficit for December, up 67% or $58 billion from a year earlier due to record outlays that were inflated by calendar shifts in benefit payments and receipts, the Treasury Department said on Tuesday.
• Trump: 2.6% Core Inflation Justifies Fed Rate Cut
  
  President Donald Trump welcomed December inflation figures released Tuesday, saying they supported his push for Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell to cut interest rates.
• US New Home Sales Fall Marginally in October
  
  Sales of new U.S. single-family homes fell slightly in October after increasing for two straight months, though declining prices amid still-elevated inventory could support the new housing market this year.
• Powell Could Remain a Thorn in Trump's Side
  
  Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's term as chair is set to end on May 15, 2026 - but he could still thwart President Donald Trump's push to lower interest rates.
• Public Assistance Fraud Extends Beyond Minnesota
  
  Federal prosecutors now suggest that up to half of the $18 billion spent on 14 Medicaid-funded Minnesota programs since 2018 may have been tied to fraud. Even if those estimates are revised downward, the pattern is unmistakable. Fraud became routine.
• Inflation Holds Steady at 2.7%; Core CPI Cools to 2.6%
  
  U.S. consumer prices increased in December as the distortions related to the government shutdown that had artificially lowered inflation in November unwound, cementing expectations the Federal Reserve would leave interest rates unchanged this month.
• Top Central Bankers Express 'Full Solidarity' With Fed Chair Powell
  
  Central bankers from around the world said Tuesday they "stand in full solidarity" with Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, after President Donald Trump dramatically escalated his confrontation with the Fed...
• Trump: Ruling Against Tariffs Would Be Disastrous
  
  The Supreme Court is set to rule on the authority of President Donald Trump's national security and trade-related tariffs, but Trump warned that U.S. national security would be "screwed" if the tariffs were unwound.
• US Dramatically Reduces Trade Deficit
  
  The U.S. economy managed to drastically reduce its trade deficit in October of last year.
• Scott Bessent: 10% of US Budget Stolen Annually
  
  The U.S. government wastes hundreds of billions of dollars annually, says Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. In an interview with journalist Christopher Rufo that premiered Sunday, Bessent said federal "waste, fraud, and abuse" totals $300 billion to $600 billion a year.
• US-Taiwan Trade Deal Close, Cutting Tariffs to 15%
  
  The Trump administration is reportedly finalizing a trade agreement with Taiwan that would cut U.S. tariffs on the island's exports to 15% and secure a major expansion of semiconductor manufacturing in the United States.
• New Fed Chair May Not Grant Trump Lower Rates
  
  President Trump may be able to appoint a loyalist to chair the Federal Reserve Board, but that doesn't guarantee he'll get meaningfully lower interest rates.The Fed can only control short-term interest rates, most notably the federal funds rate-the rate banks charge each...

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