How America's economy is dodging disaster
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Reuters
43 minutes ago
- Reuters
Swedish inflation picks up in June, puts more rate cuts in doubt
STOCKHOLM, July 7 (Reuters) - Swedish headline consumer prices rose 0.5% in June from the previous month and were up 2.9% from the same month a year earlier, flash figures from the statistics office (SCB) showed on Monday. Stripping out volatile energy prices, a measure the Riksbank is looking at closely, inflation was 3.3% compared to June 2024. The statistics office does not provide details in flash figures. June inflation easily topped forecasts by the central bank, which targets 2% headline inflation, and those of economists, making further interest rate cuts less likely for the remainder of the year. "Our forecast is that the Riksbank will stay on hold at 2.00%, and today's inflation reading supports that view," Nordea said in a note. "We also expect domestic demand to recover, reducing the need for rate cuts." The economy has stalled this year and the Riksbank had been growing increasingly confident that the overall trend is for price pressures to ease, though uncertainty is high due to U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff policies and a volatile currency . Cutting the policy rate to 2.00% on June 18, the Riksbank had said the inflation outlook meant it could cut the policy rate again this year to boost growth. Until now, policy setters have believed temporary factors have held up inflation since the start of the year. The Riksbank forecast 2.4% headline inflation in June compared to a year earlier. Excluding volatile energy prices, it estimated inflation at 2.9%. Analysts had expected headline inflation at 2.5% on an annual basis, and at 3.0% excluding energy. Headline inflation was 2.3% on an annual basis in May. Excluding volatile energy prices, inflation was 2.5%. Final inflation figures are due on July 14. The Riksbank will announce its next policy decision on August 20.
The Herald Scotland
an hour ago
- The Herald Scotland
Donald Trump slams Elon Musk after "America Party" announcement
Musk announced the formation of the "America Party" on July 5, the day after Trump signed his mega-bill. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office projects the legislation will increase the national debt by $3.4 trillion, which Musk as lambasted. "When it comes to bankrupting our country with waste & graft, we live in a one-party system, not a democracy," Musk wrote on his social media platform X on July 5. "Today, the America Party is formed to give you back your freedom." Trump criticized third parties in his July 6 post. "The one thing Third Parties are good for is the creation of Complete and Total DISRUPTION & CHAOS, and we have enough of that with the Radical Left Democrats," Trump wrote. Musk - the world's richest person with a worth of $405 billion, according to Forbes - spent nearly $290 million to help Trump and other Republicans get elected. In the opening months of Trump's presidency, Musk led the effort to slash federal agencies through the Department of Government Efficiency. The two have feuded in recent weeks as Musk strongly criticized Trump's "Big Beautiful Bill," which includes tax cuts, increased spending on immigration enforcement and the military and deep spending cuts in Medicaid. The bill increases the debt ceiling by $5 trillion. Musk has threatened to boost primary challengers against those who supported the bill, which included all but two Republicans in the House and three in the Senate. "Every member of Congress who campaigned on reducing government spending and then immediately voted for the biggest debt increase in history should hang their head in shame!" Musk wrote before Trump signed the legislation. "And they will lose their primary next year if it is the last thing I do on this Earth." Musk had taken steps to repair his strained relationship with the president - including personally apologizing for insults he made during his combative exit from the Trump administration last month - before the new round of sparring.
The Herald Scotland
an hour ago
- The Herald Scotland
Beshear calls Trump's Medicaid cuts an 'attack on rural America'
He said around 200,000 people in Kentucky are could lose their healthcare under the bill, which implements new work requirements for Medicaid and a raft of other restrictions that healthcare experts argue will trigger hospital closures in rural areas. Lawmakers included a $50 billion fund in the legislation to prop up these hospitals, but experts say it won't be enough to make up for the $155 billion expected decline in federal Medicaid spending in rural areas. Beshear, who is considered a potential presidential candidate for the party in 2028, said up to 35 rural hospitals in Kentucky could be at risk of closing as a result of the bill. "What that means is our economy takes a huge hit," he said. "You lose 200 jobs from doctors and nurses and orderlies and all of a sudden the coffee shop does worse, the bank doesn't have as many folks coming in. This is going to hit rural America right in the face." Still, Republicans have argued that the biggest expected cut to Medicaid - the implementation of work requirements for able-bodied adults - is popular among voters, and other changes such as more frequent eligibility checks are common sense options. Democrats "unfortunately seem to think that poor people are stupid. I don't think poor people are stupid. I think they have agency, and I think to have them register twice a year for these benefits is not a burden," Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent also said on CNN on July 6. "People who want to infantilize the poor and people who need these Medicaid benefits are alarmist." Republicans in Congress passed the massive tax-cut and spending package on July 3. Trump signed it into law on July 4. It was the key goal for Trump and Republican leadership in Congress, which captured a trifecta during the 2024 elections and has used that political muscle to force what they've dubbed their "One Big, Beautiful Bill" through both chambers at a rapid-fire pace. The passage came despite deep reservations within their own party and unanimous opposition from Democrats who see it as a ticket to winning back congressional majorities in 2026.
