U.S. Economic News
September 18, 2018
U.S. Economic Indicators
The NAHB Housing Market Index was unchanged at 67.0 in September. Builder confidence remained strong due to solid demand for housing, especially from millennials who represent an increasing share of homebuyers. NAHB Report
U.S. News
The Wall Street Journal reports that China will impose tariffs on $60 billion of U.S. goods in response to new U.S. tariffs on $200 billion of Chinese goods. President Trump has promised that if China were to retaliate against the new U.S. tariffs the U.S. would impose tariffs on a further $267 billion of Chinese imports, which would mean that the U.S. would have tariffs in place affecting nearly every good imported from China. WSJ
According to the Wall Street Journal, National Economic Council Director Larry Kudlow says that projected increases in federal government deficits are due to excess spending. Kudlow rejected the notion that deficits were widening because of recent tax cuts and stated that he expects the federal government to run deficits of 4-5% of GDP, which he believes “is not a catastrophe.” WSJ