All posts tagged: Breaking News: Economy

Iowa Democratic primary could help decide control of the Senate

Iowa Democratic primary could help decide control of the Senate

Published by Sam Flores

Iowa Democratic U.S. Senate candidates Josh Turek, left, and Zach Wahls. Getty Images Iowa Democrats on Tuesday are voting in one of the party’s most closely watched primary elections this election year in a key test of the party’s strategy to take control of the Senate in this year’s midterms. Voters will choose between front-runner state Rep. Josh Turek and state Sen. Zach Wahls. Both are vying to become the first Democrat elected to the U.S. Senate in Iowa since Tom Harkin, who was last elected in 2008. Whoever wins the primary will square off against Rep. Ashley Hinson, a Republican who represents the state’s 2nd congressional district, to fill the seat Sen. Joni Ernst will vacate at the end of this year Hinson also has a primary challenger in Jim Carlin, though she is heavily favored to win. Whoever emerges will have the difficult task of winning in a state that President Donald Trump took by 13 percentage points in 2024, and where there are nearly 200,000 more registered Republican voters than Democrats. Democrats, however, …

The Iran war has made inequality worse. An end won’t fix it

The Iran war has made inequality worse. An end won’t fix it

Published by Sam Flores

A driver refuels a vehicle with regular gasoline at a Shell gas station in Hercules, California, May 21, 2026. David Paul Morris | Bloomberg | Getty Images For some Americans’ finances, the Iran war was over almost as soon as it began. Those with access to stocks — a majority of Americans have some, though the ultrawealthy have most — saw the S&P 500 dip about 8% when the war started, only for it to bounce 19% starting in late March, more than making up its losses. The index is now up 10.7% for the year, which if it held would make for the fourth consecutive year of double-digit stock increases. President Donald Trump has been quick to trumpet these gains. “We have 401(k)s at their all-time high, highest they’ve ever been, and that goes along with the stock market, which is the highest it’s ever been,” Trump said at a televised Cabinet meeting this week, repeating a refrain he has adopted to celebrate market wins. That is all despite the war, he said.  But …

What Stephen Miller gets wrong about debt and immigration

What Stephen Miller gets wrong about debt and immigration

Published by Sam Flores

White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller speaks with members of the press outside the West Wing of the White House in Washington, Aug. 29, 2025. Andrew Caballero-Reynolds | AFP | Getty Images The U.S. national debt grew past 100% of gross domestic product last month, putting the country on the path to beat the record of 106% of GDP set in 1946, coming out of World War II. That record is on pace to shatter around 2029, just as Donald Trump’s presidency is ending, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimates.  Deputy White House Chief of Staff Stephen Miller has identified a culprit for what might otherwise be a grim legacy. “I believe based on what I’ve seen and what I’ve heard is that we could balance the federal budget if the only dollars that went out of the Treasury went to individuals who were properly lawfully correctly eligible to receive them,” Miller said at a Trump administration anti-fraud event Tuesday.  Miller’s figures far overstate the federal government’s published estimates for misspent funds, and …

Republicans stare down inflation abyss with midterms fast approaching

Republicans stare down inflation abyss with midterms fast approaching

Published by Sam Flores

Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa., talks with a reporter in the U.S. Capitol’s Statuary Hall on Friday, March 27, 2026. Tom Williams | CQ-Roll Call, Inc. | Getty Images Republicans have said for months that inflation is former President Joe Biden’s problem. Now, they’re staring down the barrel of an inflation crisis of their own making just in time for the midterm election, and the blame game is just getting started. Inflation ticked up to 3.8% year-over-year in April, the highest mark since 2023. Much of that spike is coming on the back of soaring energy prices, which have persisted since President Donald Trump launched a war in Iran. Trump and congressional Republicans swept into power in 2024 by promising to defeat the inflation that dogged Biden’s presidency. But they now risk getting trounced in the 2026 midterm election due to their own inflation crisis, and they are struggling to find a clear message to battle high prices as the president pushes for a $400 million White House ballroom and a $1.8 billion taxpayer-funded legal relief …

Trump swears Kevin Warsh in as Fed chair, seeking interest rate cuts

Trump swears Kevin Warsh in as Fed chair, seeking interest rate cuts

Published by Sam Flores

President Donald Trump led a ceremony swearing in Kevin Warsh as chair of the Federal Reserve, putting him in charge of a central bank that must navigate a tumultuous economy and a president with very specific expectations on interest rates. Trump, whose actions toward the Fed have spurred bipartisan alarms about executive influence on the historically independent central bank, said he wanted Warsh to “just do your own thing and do a great job.” “I want Kevin to be totally independent,” Trump said at the start of the event Friday morning. “Don’t look at me, don’t look at anybody.” But the swearing-in ceremony itself highlighted the the president’s unprecedented involvement with the Fed during his second term: Warsh is the first Fed chair to be sworn in at the White House since Alan Greenspan in 1987. The event in the East Room was attended by a range of high-profile figures, including Supreme Court Justices Clarence Thomas and Brett Kavanaugh, House Speaker Mike Johnson and many other politicians and Cabinet officials. Thomas delivered the oath to …

Taiwan was central in Xi’s meeting with Trump — but not with Putin

Taiwan was central in Xi’s meeting with Trump — but not with Putin

Published by Sam Flores

BEIJING, CHINA – MAY 15: U.S. President Donald Trump speaks with Chinese President Xi Jinping while leaving after a visit to Zhongnanhai Garden on May 15, 2026 in Beijing, China. Evan Vucci | Getty Images The meetings between Chinese President Xi Jinping and his U.S. and Russian counterparts came just days apart, but the style and substance of the encounters stood in stark contrast. Xi’s meeting with President Donald Trump was replete with pomp and pageantry, reflecting Beijing eagerness to project China’s power, strength and history during the White House leader’s state visit. but the Chinese premier’s meeting with his Russian counterpart and “friend” Vladimir Putin has been a much more relaxed affair, with the two leaders reaffirming already close strategic and geopolitical ties. One major notable difference between the two encounters, however, was Taiwan, which was a cornerstone of one meeting and completely absent from the other. The contested status of the island — which China claims as its own — was a central and awkward issue in Xi’s meeting with Trump, but the …

Bessent urges G7 to help U.S. attack Iran’s finances

Bessent urges G7 to help U.S. attack Iran’s finances

Published by Sam Flores

US Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent arrives at meeting of G7 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors in preparation for the summit of heads of State and government to be held in June 2026 in Evian, in Paris on May 18, 2026. Julien De Rosa | Afp | Getty Images Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Tuesday urged world leaders at a G7 conference to help the U.S. combat Iranian terrorism by “rooting out the financing that sustains it,” while laying out a new rubric for imposing “aggressive and targeted” sanctions. “Crushing the threat of terrorism compels all of you to step up and join us,” Bessent said in a speech to the “No Money for Terror” conference in Paris, after claiming that the U.S. often fights alone. The remarks follow previous calls by President Donald Trump and other U.S. officials for more countries to join its ongoing war against Iran, which continues to wreak havoc on the global economy even as the conflict appears to be locked in an uneasy stalemate. Bessent boasted at …

What does Russia need from China?

What does Russia need from China?

Published by Sam Flores

Russian President Vladimir Putin meets with China’s President Xi Jinping at the Kremlin in Moscow on March 21, 2023. Alexey Maishev | Afp | Getty Images As Russian President Vladimir Putin travels to China, Moscow’s leader will be keen not only to bolster ties with Beijing but also to extract key wins in areas of trade and energy. Putin’s two-day trip to Beijing comes hot on the heels of his U.S. counterpart Donald Trump’s state visit, which saw the White House boast diplomatic and trade wins. The Russian president now heads to Beijing with the hope of reaffirming and reinforcing already close ties with China. CNBC looks at the three key areas where Russia’s leader would like to deepen ties and extract concrete pledges: Geopolitical ties It’s no accident that Putin’s arrival comes just days after Trump concluded his state visit to Beijing, Ed Price, senior non-resident fellow at New York University, told CNBC Tuesday. Putin is likely sending “a reminder to Americans that, yes, you can come and visit China as much as you …

Putin heads to Beijing days after Trump in test of China’s direction

Putin heads to Beijing days after Trump in test of China’s direction

Published by Sam Flores

TOPSHOT – Chinese President Xi Jinping (R) shows the way to Russian President Vladimir Putin after the photo session of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Summit 2025 at the Meijiang Convention and Exhibition Centre in Tianjin on September 1, 2025. Suo Takekuma | Afp | Getty Images Russian President Vladimir Putin is set to arrive in Beijing on Tuesday for a two-day summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping, visiting an ally that barely had time to clear the ceremonial trappings it laid out for U.S. President Donald Trump just days earlier. The summit, scheduled for May 19-20, marks the second time the Chinese and Russian leaders have met in the past year, as Beijing seeks to manage ties with Washington and Moscow while positioning itself as a pivotal power in global diplomacy. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022 left Moscow effectively isolated and heavily reliant on Beijing for trade under Western sanctions. “We have very serious expectations for this visit,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters Monday, describing the agenda as advancing the two countries’ …

Trump turns to midterms, affordability after China as Iran continues

Trump turns to midterms, affordability after China as Iran continues

Published by Sam Flores

US President Donald Trump (R) gestures as he poses for photos with China’s President Xi Jinping during a visit to Zhongnanhai Garden in Beijing on May 15, 2026. Evan Vucci | Afp | Getty Images President Donald Trump has returned stateside and so has his administration’s focus, even as the Iran war and the aftermath of his China trip remain front-burner issues. Trump and his top officials are fanning out across the U.S. this week for events aimed at touting his domestic achievements — a notable pivot after major foreign policy matters in Iran, China, Cuba, Venezuela and elsewhere have dominated headlines for months. Trump on Monday afternoon is set to unveil his latest effort to bring down healthcare costs, while Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth travels to a campaign event in Kentucky and Vice President JD Vance attends a manufacturing-focused event in Missouri. The apparent shift, days after Trump’s return from Beijing, comes ahead of the fast-approaching 2026 midterm elections, where Democrats hope to regain at least one chamber of Congress and fiercely push back …