U.S. Economic News
January 22, 2019
U.S. Economic Indicators
Existing home sales decreased 6.4% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.99 million in December, and are 10.3% below year-ago levels. NAR notes that several consecutive months of rising inventory may contribute to a slowdown in home price appreciation, however there is still a lack of adequate inventory of lower-priced homes. NAR Report
U.S. News
Lingling Wei of the Wall Street Journal reports that China experienced its slowest pace of economic growth in nearly three decades last year with a growth rate of 6.6%. The author cites the trade conflict with the U.S as one of the primary headwinds, as the uncertain outlook for Chinese exporters causes companies to delay investing and hiring. WSJ
The Wall Street Journal reports that the IMF cut its forecast for world economic growth in 2019 from 3.7% to 3.5%, conceding that the global expansion has weakened. While a global recession may not be imminent, threats of high tariffs and stalling European economies have dragged on global growth prospects. WSJ
James Politi of the Financial Times writes that congressional Democrats have demanded changes to the new U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (“USMCA”), setting up a potential clash with the White House and Republicans in Congress. Some Democrats have asked for stronger enforcement provisions for labor and environmental standards, while others have taken issue with the fact that steel and aluminum tariffs on Mexico and Canada remain in place. FT