In a pamphlet published in 1711, Jonathan Swift lamented the “folly” of those who “mistake the echo of a London coffeehouse for the voice of the kingdom.” Those informal salons were, he wrote, frequented by people whose wealth depended on their shares in the Bank of England or the East India Company or “some other…
Even before this year’s economic turmoil hit, financial anxiety among Americans was running high. Really high. Four out of five Americans in a survey for Discover last year said they were worried about their money situation, with inflation, everyday expenses and the state of the economy leading a litany of concerns. Nearly two-thirds said they…
President Trump didn’t seem to mind as his worldwide tariffs set off stock market sell-offs and wiped out trillions of dollars in wealth. “Be cool,” he told Americans. Then he blinked on Wednesday afternoon in the face of financial turmoil, particularly a rapid rise in government bond yields that could shake the dominant position of…
When Congress voted to normalize trade relations with China at the beginning of this century, U.S. manufacturers braced for a stream of cheap goods to begin flowing into U.S. ports. Instead, they got a flood. Imports from China nearly tripled from 1999 to 2005, and American factories, with their higher wages and stricter safety standards,…
Stock markets shuddered on Friday as the trade war between the United States and China continued to escalate. The Stoxx Europe 600 index slipped 0.7 percent after China raised its tariffs on U.S. imports to 125 percent. The benchmark index in Germany, whose export-driven economy is exposed to global tensions, dropped more than 1 percent….
To the Editor: Re “Trump Pauses Many Tariffs for 90 Days, but Not on China” (front page, April 10): I wonder what President Trump has learned, if anything, from his tariff escapade. An ordinary person would be abashed, ashamed and relieved that he was able to escape — at least temporarily — so quickly from…
The stock market resumed its slide on Thursday, as the White House clarified that Chinese imports would face a tariff of 145 percent, prompting renewed investor angst over an escalating trade war between the world’s two largest economies. The S&P 500 fell 3.5 percent, a day after recording its best gain since 2008. The drop…
A dizzying escalation of tariffs has unraveled a trade relationship between the United States and China forged over decades, jeopardizing the fate of two superpowers and threatening to drag down the world economy. The brinkmanship displayed by the two countries has already far exceeded the battles they waged during President Trump’s first term. In 2018…
Since re-entering office, President Trump has issued a flurry of tariffs in an effort to rewire the global economy. At 12:01 a.m. Eastern time on Wednesday, his most aggressive moves yet took effect, imposing double-digit rates on dozens of countries. About 13 hours later, he said he would halt implementation of those tariffs for the…
When it comes to tariffs, President Trump is a creature of habit. He first rolls out new levies with bluster. He claims they will solve a major problem: They’ll help stop fentanyl trafficking across the Mexican and Canadian borders. They’ll bring back manufacturing. They’ll rebalance trade. They’ll collect trillions in revenue. Soon, the markets panic….