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A joint federal and local drug task force seized in mid-December a record 1.7 million fentanyl pills in a sweeping crackdown on illegal drugs ...
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NEW YORK CITY—The judge presiding over the Ghislaine Maxwell sex trafficking trial has asked jurors to continue attending court ahead of the New Years ...
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By Reuters
A U.S. judge dismissed a lawsuit accusing Microsoft Corp.’s LinkedIn of inflating the number of people who watched video ads so the networking platform could overcharge hundreds ...
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Dr. Anthony Fauci has been on the federal payroll for 55 years and he currently has no plans to retire, but when ...
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The FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) is breaking its own rule that states pilots should not fly after having taken medications that have been approved ...
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By Joseph Lord
A Gallup poll that asked respondents to rank their approval of major federal leaders found that Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts ...
- Thousands More Flights Canceled as COVID-19 Continues to Disrupt Holiday Travel
By Katabella Roberts
Thousands more flights were canceled across the United States on Monday amid the ongoing CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus nationwide surge in Omicron variant cases.
Around 3,259 flights were canceled ...
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Addictive “brain hijacking” methods used by social media giants to keep users on their platforms have harmful effects, particularly on children, according to industry ...
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By Gregory Bresiger
Georgia, with its strong economic recovery from the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus pandemic, may become the 10th state without a state an income tax.
A former ...
- Dem Senators Tell Virginia Supreme Court Redrawn Electoral Map Doesn’t Protect Democrats Enough
By Matthew Vadum
Virginia’s two Democratic U.S. senators urged the state’s Supreme Court to reject proposed changes to the state’s congressional map, claiming that the ...
- US Navy Warship Pauses Deployment After COVID-19 Outbreak Among ‘100 Percent Immunized’ Crew
By Mimi Nguyen Ly
A U.S. Navy warship has paused its deployment to South America due to a COVID-19 outbreak among its “100 percent immunized” crew, the ...
- Airlines Across US Continue to Cancel, Delay Hundreds of Christmas Holiday Flights Amid Omicron Surge
By Katabella Roberts
Airlines across the United States continued to cancel hundreds of Christmas holiday flights on Sunday amid the nationwide surge in Omicron cases which has also ...
![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 | USNN World News")
