U.S. Economic News
March 19, 2019
U.S. Economic Indicators
New factory orders for manufactured goods increased 0.1% in January following a 0.1% (revised) rise in December, and are up 3.8% year to date. New orders excluding transportation fell 0.2% while new orders for nondefense capital goods excluding aircraft rose 0.8%. Census Bureau Report
U.S. News
According to the Wall Street Journal, the White House in a new report highlighted the strength of labor-force participation and pushed for policies to encourage more people to work as millions of baby boomers retire. The report stated the government could encourage greater labor-force participation through policies aimed at improving the accessibility of childcare, employer training programs, and changes to the criminal justice system. WSJ
The Financial Times reports that U.S. farm groups are increasing pressure on President Trump to launch trade talks with Tokyo as they lose sales and market share in Japan following America’s withdrawal from the Trans-Pacific Partnership. U.S. pork exports to Japan totaled $1.6 billion last year, and have dropped 35% in volume thus far in 2019. FT