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By Mark Tapscott
Senate Democrats, joined by 22 Republicans, approved a Continuing Resolution (CR) Thursday afternoon that would keep the federal government from closing on Friday, ...
- Durham Prosecutes FBI Informants, While Protecting Their Handlers
By Paul Sperry
Since being named special counsel in October 2020, John Durham has investigated or indicted several unscrupulous anti-Trump informants. But he has spared ...
- Republicans Seek to Divert IRS Enforcement Funding Boost for Border Security
By Tom Ozimek
House Republicans have released a draft bill that would halt the nearly $50 billion funding boost for Internal Revenue Service (IRS) enforcement ...
- FBI Agents Improperly Saw Privileged Trump Communications: Lawyers
By Zachary Stieber
The FBI team that seized documents from former president Donald Trump’s resort improperly viewed communications between Trump and an attorney, violating attorney-client privilege for a ...
- 2 Million Floridians Without Power as Weakened Ian Batters Peninsula
By Caden Pearson
More than 2 million are without power Wednesday night as a weakened Hurricane Ian batters the Florida Peninsula after making landfall hours earlier over ...
- Six Minnesota Counties Have 515 Duplicate Registrations on Voter Rolls, Watchdog Alleges
By Steven Kovac
Six weeks before the midterm elections, six Minnesota county election officials are alleged to have failed to remove 515 duplicate registrations from ...
- Blinken, Mayorkas Should Secure US Border or Face Congressional Investigation: GOP Lawmaker
By Frank Fang
Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas have been warned that they will face congressional probes if they can’t secure ...
- Trump Reveals His Biggest Fear, Warns ‘We’re at the Most Dangerous Time … Maybe Ever’
By Tom Ozimek
Former President Donald Trump said his biggest worry now is where geopolitical tensions over Ukraine and Taiwan may be headed, saying that he thinks ...
- FBI Changes Total Number of Documents Seized From Trump’s Estate
By Zachary Stieber
The FBI on Sept. 26 changed the total number of documents it said it seized from former President Donald Trump’s estate.
Sixty-three additional documents or photographs ...
- Department of Justice Seeks Another Delay in Turning Over Documents From Mar-a-Lago to Trump
By Zachary Stieber
U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) lawyers are seeking another delay in allowing lawyers for former President Donald Trump to peruse documents seized in August from Trump’s ...
- Most Americans Support Biden’s Student Loan Handout Until They Realize It Raises Taxes: Poll
By Bill Pan
A majority of Americans would oppose President Joe Biden’s plan to “forgive” billions of dollars of federal student loan debt if it led to ...
- Bill Making it Harder for Lawmakers to Object to Presidential Results Advances in Senate
By Mimi Nguyen Ly
A measure that would reform the Electoral Count Act of 1887 and make it harder for members of Congress to object to or ...
![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 8")
