- Texas Governor Announces Plan to Place Austin Police Under State Control
By GQ Pan
Legislation to place the Austin Police Department under state control has been drafted for lawmakers to consider in the coming January session, Texas Gov. ...
- Arizona GOP Moves to Intervene in Legal Battle Over Maricopa County Audit
By Zachary Stieber
The Arizona Republican Party has filed a motion to intervene in the lawsuit filed by Maricopa County against state senators, as the county fights against subpoenas ...
- Senator Lindsey Graham: Georgia Now Has ‘Credible Process’ to Perform Signature Audit of Election
By Jack Phillips
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) on Tuesday said he was briefed about Georgia’s mail-in ballot signature verification, saying officials have the ability to conduct ...
- IBM, 3M, PepsiCo Among Leading US Firms That House Chinese Communist Party Units: Leaked Database
By Eva Fu
Hundreds of Chinese Communist Party (CCP) members are embedded within the Chinese divisions of major U.S. corporations, from IBM to PepsiCo to 3M, a leaked ...
- Hostile Reaction in Detroit Forced Election Official Into Hiding
By Charlotte Cuthbertson
William Hartmann felt like he was stuck in a “Mission Impossible” movie when he left a Wayne County Board of Canvassers meeting ...
- State GOP Lawmakers Call on Congress Members to Back Elector Challenge
By Ivan Pentchoukov
Republican lawmakers in Mississipi, South Carolina and Alabama are lobbying fellow Republicans in U.S. Congress to block presidential electors from contested states ...
- All Eyes on Congress as Lawmakers Vow to Oppose Electoral Votes
By Ivan Pentchoukov and Zachary Stieber
President Donald Trump’s multilayered effort to challenge the results of the election is expected to culminate on Jan. 6, ...
- New Mexico Sheriff Says He Won’t Enforce ‘Unconstitutional’ Health Order
By GQ Pan
The sheriff of New Mexico’s largest county said over the weekend that he won’t enforce the state’s public health order, calling the governor’s ...
- Meadows: Trump Met With Several Congress Members on Fraud, Will ‘Fight Back’
By Jack Phillips
White House chief of staff Mark Meadows said President Donald Trump met with several members of Congress on alleged voter fraud and will “fight back.”
“Several members ...
- White House Adviser Navarro: 379,000 ‘Possibly Illegal Ballots’ Cast in Michigan
By Jack Phillips
White House adviser Peter Navarro claimed in an interview on Monday that more than 379,000 possibly illegal ballots were allegedly cast in Michigan.
“My top-line ...
- Sen. Ted Cruz: Anyone ‘Involved in Voter Fraud’ Should Be Prosecuted, Jailed
By Jack Phillips
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) told voters in Georgia that anyone who is involved in voter fraud should be jailed and prosecuted.
“We are fighting together ...
- Beijing ‘Substantially Involved’ in US 2020 Election, China Analyst Says
By Isabel Van Brugen
Beijing was “substantially involved” in the U.S. 2020 elections on multiple levels, according to China analyst Gordon Chang, who has described the Chinese Communist ...
![Strong labor data and positive expectations about the incoming Trump administration pushed the U.S. dollar to a two-year high on Thursday. The U.S. dollar iIndex hit a high of 109.53 on Jan. 2, the first trading day of the year, and the highest since November 2022. The jump came as data released on Thursday by the U.S. Department of Labor showed that initial jobless claims hit an eight-month low, suggesting a robust labor market, which is a positive sign for the overall economy. The dollar index was trading slightly lower on Friday at 108.96 as of 08:30 a.m. EST. The dollar index increase is also supported by investor confidence in the upcoming Trump administration, which assumes power this month. According to a recent survey by consulting company Teneo, “global CEOs and investors are optimistic about the economic impact of a second Trump administration, outweighing concerns about tariffs, geopolitical tensions, and trade barriers.” Story continues below advertisement In fact, “50 percent of global CEOs are accelerating activities in areas such as domestic and international investment and hiring based on the outcome of the 2024 U.S. election,” it said. While the dollar strengthened, the euro and sterling declined on Thursday. The euro fell to its lowest level in more than two years while the sterling declined to its lowest in eight months. A Dec. 17 report from JP Morgan predicts the U.S. dollar to reach even new highs over the coming months. Related Stories How Major US Stock Indexes Fared Jan. 2 1/2/2025 How Major US Stock Indexes Fared Jan. 2 Americans Have Hopes Trump Will Deliver on Immigration, Economy, Safety: Gallup 1/2/2025 Americans Have Hopes Trump Will Deliver on Immigration, Economy, Safety: Gallup “November’s election outcome has given way to lower global growth expectations, wider growth gaps between the U.S. and the rest of the world, and higher terminal federal funds rate forecasts for 2025—the perfect trifecta of bullish U.S. dollar cyclical impulse,” said Meera Chandan, co-head of Global FX Strategy at the company. “These are early first-order reactions that may give way to deeper rethinks once the full set of Trump administration policies are known next year [2025], but for now, they constitute a solid economic rationale for carrying a long U.S. dollar stance into the first quarter of 2025.” JP Morgan sees the euro’s outlook as bearish, noting the eurozone is especially vulnerable to trade conflicts. And while sterling was the best-performing currency against the dollar last year, such an outperformance is not expected this year, it said. US Economy Performance in 2025 With President-elect Donald Trump set to take power in less than three weeks, there are mixed views about how things could shape up for the American economy. According to a Dec. 9 post by Morgan Stanley, markets are “bullish on Trump’s second term, hoping for tax cuts and better growth.” “We expect no net stimulus and a decent size hit from tariffs and immigration. This should be bullish for bonds as the Fed continues cutting, but could be a disappointment for frothy stocks,” it said. Regarding tariffs, the most likely outcome is a 20 percent hike on Chinese imports and on vehicles from Mexico and the European Union, Morgan Stanley said. Story continues below advertisement It predicts the U.S. Federal Reserve to continue cutting interest rates to a range of 3 percent 3.5 percent by the end of 2025. S&P Global is forecasting the U.S. economy to grow by 2 percent in 2025 and 2026, following an estimated growth of 2.7 percent last year. The company sees inflation to likely remain above the 2 percent level for “longer than we previously thought.” Goldman Sachs predicts the U.S. economy to “beat expectations” this year. “The U.S. economy is in a good place,” said David Mericle, an economist with the company. “Recession fears have diminished, inflation is trending back toward 2 percent, and the labor market has rebalanced but remains strong.” While Trump’s policy changes are likely to be “significant,” Mericle does not see these actions changing the trajectory of the economy substantially. Goldman foresees the Fed reducing interest rates to a range of 3.25–3.50 percent, with the U.S. GDP predicted to grow by 2.5 percent. There have been three consecutive quarters of economic growth in the first nine months of 2024—1.6 percent in the first quarter, 3 percent in the second, and 3.1 percent in the third.](https://www.usnn.news/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/US-Dollar-Index-Hits-Highest-Level-in-2-Years-Euro-Falls-jpg.webp "US Dollar Index Hits Highest Level in 2 Years, Euro Falls 9")
