U.S. Economic News
August 31, 2018
U.S. Economic Indicators
The University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index fell 1.7 points to 96.2 in the final August reading, and is down 0.6 point on the year. The Index of Consumer Expectations edged down 0.2 point to 87.1, while the Current Economic Conditions Index dropped 4.1 points to 110.3. Report
U.S. News
The Financial Times reports that President Trump has threatened to pull the U.S. out of the WTO. The threat came yesterday as the President criticized the WTO for infringing on American sovereignty and for unfavorable outcomes in dispute-settlement cases brought before the organization. FT
Amrith Ramkumar of the Wall Street Journal writes that a prolonged rally in the U.S. dollar could put downward pressure on global stock markets. News that the U.S. may impose $200 billion in additional tariffs on Chinese imports caused the dollar to rise yesterday, and a further strengthening of the dollar could cause the prices of dollar-denominated commodities to rise for foreign buyers. WSJ