Specialized search for economics

1+ hour, 29+ min ago (495+ words) (Bloomberg) -- JPMorgan Chase & Co. Chief Executive Officer Jamie Dimon called out slow bureaucracy in Europe in a warning that a "weak" continent poses a major economic risk to the US. "Europe has a real problem," Dimon said Saturday at the Reagan National Defense Forum. "They do some wonderful things on their safety nets. But they've driven business out, they've driven investment out, they've driven innovation out. It's kind of coming back." While he praised some European leaders who he said were aware of the issues, he cautioned politics is "really hard." Dimon, leader of the biggest US bank, has long said that the risk of a fragmented Europe is among the major challenges facing the world. In his letter to shareholders released earlier this year, he said that Europe has "some serious issues to fix." On Saturday, he praised the…...

1+ hour, 59+ min ago (652+ words) Dollar store chains have seen an influx of higher-income shoppers this year as economic uncertainty wobbles and households, even those that are wealthy, look to save. "We're pleased to see growth once again in our total customer count, with disproportionate growth coming from higher-income households," Dollar General (DG) CEO Todd J. Vasos told investors on the company's earnings call. The company reported same-store sales growth of 2.5% during the quarter, surpassing the Street's expectations. Dollar Tree (DLTR) said it gained 3 million new shoppers across all income brackets in the quarter. Roughly 60% of its new shoppers are high-income households, which the company defined as earning over $100,000. That's up from 50% of new shoppers earlier this year in the first quarter, according to Dollar Tree CEO Michael Creedon. Meanwhile, 30% of those shoppers are middle-income consumers, earning between $60,000 and $100,000, and the rest are lower-income consumers, making…...

3+ hour, 31+ min ago (374+ words) When a homeowner bought their new home in December 2023, they thought the hard part was over. Weeks later, they learned that someone had opened a $50,000 home equity line of credit on their property, and it wasn't them. The homeowner only found out about the fraudulent HELOC when trying to refinance. The title company flagged the lien during the process. "I was completely unaware of it until I was trying to refinance last week and the title company flagged it," the homeowner wrote on Reddit recently. Missed Nvidia and Tesla? RAD Intel Could Be the Next AI Powerhouse " Invest Now at Just $0.85 a Share Forget Flipping Houses"This Fund Lets You Invest in Home Equity Like Wall Street Does The lender listed on the documents was PNC Bank. When contacted, PNC reportedly refused to share details, saying it wasn't the homeowner's…...

3+ hour, 34+ min ago (231+ words) The national average for a gallon of regular gasoline has dropped close to $3 over the last month, the lowest since 2020, but still significantly higher than President Donald Trump's claims of $1.99 in "certain states, as the president faces persistent concerns, and rising blame, among Americans over an affordability crisis. Trump said Saturday gas prices were below $1.99 in places, but the national average for a gallon of gasoline is close to $3, according to gas price tracker GasBuddy. States with the lowest gas prices in the country include Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Colorado, Iowa, Wyoming, Wisconsin, Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama and Mississippi " all hovering between $2.18 to $2.95 per gallon. States like Pennsylvania, Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Nevada, California, Arizona, Alaska and Hawaii face the highest gas prices of between $3.46 to more than $4 per gallon. The U.S. Energy Information Administration's Weekly Petroleum Status showed that gasoline production increased…...

3+ hour, 37+ min ago (347+ words) General citizens can still find fixed deposits offering up to 8% interest for a five-year term. Suryoday Small Finance Bank and Jana Small Finance Bank are among those providing this attractive rate. Ujjivan Small Finance Bank offers 7.2%. Investors should note TDS rules and the option to submit Form 15G to avoid deductions. Given their unique business model, the risk associated with investing in small finance bank FDs might differ slightly from that of scheduled commercial banks To mitigate potential risks, it's recommended that investors limit their exposure to small finance bank FDs to an amount that falls within the DICGC coverage This ensures that their principal and interest are protected in unforeseen circumstances.When is TDS deducted from bank FDs?Banks are required to deduct tax deducted at source (TDS) if the interest from a fixed deposit (FD) goes over Rs 1 lakh…...

3+ hour, 47+ min ago (316+ words) Imagine this: After 28 years at the same factory, your company puts you on an eight-week layoff while it retools the plant. Your budget's tight, but you'll make it through. Then you get a phone call. Your layoff is extended indefinitely. To make matters worse, Stellantis couldn't be bothered to call you in person. Your longtime employer broke the news over robocall. John Muirhead has been working at Stellantis' plant in Brampton, Ontario, for 28 years. The automaker announced it was taking Brampton offline for eight weeks to retool the plant to assemble the new electric Jeep Compass. It laid off all 3,200 workers, including Muirhead. While he waited to go back to work, he received a phone call that changed everything. Stellantis has decided to reopen an Illinois factory for the Jeep Compass to avoid tariffs. It has no plans for Brampton…...

4+ hour, 33+ min ago (332+ words) Egypt expects its economy to grow by at least 5% by the end of the current fiscal year, supported by a continued pace of structural reforms, Planning Minister Rania Al-Mashat said on Saturday. Speaking during a meeting with an International Monetary Fund (IMF) mission in Cairo, Al-Mashat reported that Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth reached 5.3% in the first quarter of the year, a figure she described as exceeding expectations. The talks were held as part of the fifth and sixth reviews of Egypt's economic reform programme. Al-Mashat attributed the first-quarter performance to improvements in industrial production, citing increased growth rates in sectors such as vehicles, textiles, and ready-made garments. She stated this indicates a shift toward high-productivity, tradable sectors. To maintain macroeconomic stability, the minister highlighted the government's adherence to a public investment ceiling of EGP 1trn last fiscal year. She noted…...

4+ hour, 34+ min ago (301+ words) President Donald Trump has repeatedly boasted that revenue from his tariffs will be so substantial that it could fund $2,000 rebate checks for Americans and even eliminate income tax altogether, though even under the rosiest scenarios, economists are saying Trump's promises are "impossible." "We are talking complete fantasy here," said Daniel Shaviro, a professor at NYU Law, who called Trump's claim that tariff revenue could replace income taxes "not feasible at all," speaking with Newsweek in its report Saturday. "Tariffs probably can't supply even as much as 10 percent of the revenues derived from U.S. individual income tax revenues alone." Yet, even with these projections, tariff revenue still didn't come close to plugging the hole that would be created by eliminating federal income tax, which accounts for more than half of all government revenue. "If you pushed tariffs to their revenue-maximizing limit " which…...

4+ hour, 44+ min ago (288+ words) On the latest episode of Minor Issues, Mark Thornton takes apart the media's "K-shaped economy" clich. He explains the divergence the Austrian way: Cantillon effects from decades of deficit spending and artificially low rates that lift asset holders and big borrowers, while eroding wages and pricing-out families. Mark shows why the usual fixes like tax tweaks and rate cuts backfire. He also lays out a real cure: deep federal spending cuts, program eliminations, market-set interest rates, and sound money that restores honest price signals for everyone.Be sure to follow Minor Issues at https://Mises.org/MinorIssues On the latest episode of Minor Issues, Mark Thornton takes apart the media's "K-shaped economy" clich. He explains the divergence the Austrian way: Cantillon effects from decades of deficit spending and artificially low rates that lift asset holders and big borrowers, while eroding wages and pricing-out…...

4+ hour, 47+ min ago (871+ words) Editor's Note: In just a few days, Luke Lango, Louis Navellier, and I will host the American Dream 2.0 Summit " a deep-dive into the $11.3 trillion capital wave reshaping the U.S. economy. If you haven't reserved your seat yet, you can do that right here. Before the Summit, I asked Luke to break down what's really happening " and why January 2 could be a turning point for investors who position themselves early. His essay below lays out the stakes with crystal clarity. In 1969, the math of middle-class life actually worked. A unionized auto-assembly worker made $4 to $5 an hour. That's roughly $65,000 to $80,000 in today's dollars. The median home cost is around $25,000 (2.5 to 3X annual income). A year of public-college tuition ran $300 to $400 " a few weeks' pay. For decades, the social contract was simple: Work hard, play by the rules, invest a little, and you'll get ahead....