CNBC: Biden signs $1.9 trillion Covid relief bill, clearing way for stimulus checks, vaccine aid Article published: March 11, 2021 IB Economics syllabus: Macroeconomics (Expnasionary fiscal policy, multiplier) Biden's Covid relief bill is mostly made up of transfer payments ($1400 in direct payments to most Americans, $300 per week unemployment benefits). Transfer payments themselves [...]
BBC: Cognac targeted with tariffs in US-EU trade row Article published: December 31, 2020 IB Economics syllabus: International Economics (trade protection, tariffs) As the trade war between the US and the EU goes on, European cognac gets hit by new tariffs. This is yet another step in the ongoing battle about their aircraft manufacturers, Boeing and Airbus, [...]
Reuters: Trump lifts tariffs on Canadian aluminum, warns he may resume them Article published: October 27, 2020 IB Economics syllabus: International Economics (trade protection, tariffs) Trump eliminated the 10% tariffs the US had against Canadian aluminum imports, but the President warned that the tariffs may be put back in place should imports increase a lot. This [...]
Business Insider: Trump signs the $2 trillion coronavirus economic relief bill into law, which includes checks for Americans and business loans Article published: March 23, 2020 IB Economics syllabus: Macroeconomics (expansionary fiscal policy) Trump signed the largest ever economic stimulus package (expansionary fiscal policy) of American history to fight the recession caused by the coronavirus. Source of [...]
CNN: Fed takes emergency action to stave off a depression Article published: March 23, 2020 IB Economics syllabus: Macroeconomics (expansionary monetary policy) In an effort to "prevent the health crisis from turning into a full-blown financial crisis" the U.S. central bank (the Fed) has announced an unlimited bond-buying program, also known as an "open-ended quantitative easing." This [...]
CNN: The Fed just hit the coronavirus panic button Article published: March 3, 2020 IB Economics syllabus: Macroeconomics (expansionary monetary policy) It seems like the coronavirus has effects other than on hockey sticks, in fact now the Fed (the U.S. Central Bank) has also reacted to it. In fears of a fall in economic growth (not to [...]
CNBC: Fed approves quarter-point rate cut but is divided on further action this year Article published: Sep 18, 2019 IB Economics syllabus: Macroeconomics (monetary policy) The FED (U.S. Central Bank) has cut the interest rates again by 0.25%. “The implications of global developments for the economic outlook as well as muted inflation pressures" were given as the [...]
CNN: The Fed cut rates for the first time since 2008 Article published: July 31, 2019 IB Economics syllabus: Macroeconomics (monetary policy) EXTREMELY IMPORTANT! This has been the first time since 2008 that the Fed (U.S. Central Bank) has cut interest rates. This is a form of expansionary fiscal policy which is carried out in order [...]
CNBC: Federal Reserve fends off efforts to be politicized by President Trump, for now Article published: May 2, 2019 IB Economics syllabus: Macroeconomics (central bank independence, monetary policy) NOTE: I don't recommend this as an IB economics commentary article as it is too long, and there is no specific policy action discussed, but it is a great one [...]
Reuters: Trump says strong dollar hurting U.S. competitiveness Article published: March 2, 2019 IB Economics syllabus: International economics (central bank policy, exchange rates) Trump is openly against further monetary tightening (raising interest rates) and hints that the strong dollar can reduce export competitiveness: “I want a strong dollar, but I want a dollar that’s great for our country [...]
The Guardian: Federal Reserve raises interest rates despite pressure from Trump Article published: December 19, 2018 IB Economics syllabus: Macroeconomics (monetary policy) The Federal Reserve (Central Bank of the United States) has increased the interest rates for the 5th time this year. According to the chairman, the U.S. is a healthy economy and there is [...]
CNN Business: China is temporarily slashing tariffs on US auto imports Article published: December 15, 2018 IB Economics syllabus: International economics (protectionism, tariffs) After placing additional tariffs on cars in July, China has now decided to reduce these tariffs on a temporary basis for the next three months. The decision was made in order [...]
Reuters: Shut out of China, U.S. coal exporters find favour in India Article published: Nov 20, 2018 IB Economics syllabus: International economics (protectionism, trade) This article talks about how the higher tariffs in China made American coal producers sell coal in other countries (e.g. India) instead of China. This is a real-life example of trade diversion. [...]
Reuters: For Fed, sell-off could point to fading Trump stimulus Article published: Oct 23, 2018 IB Economics syllabus: Macroeconomics (economic growth, monetary policy) The Fed (Central Bank of the United States) is in the process of increasing interest rates. This is definitely necessary as the U.S. economy is getting close to overheating, expanding "at an annualized [...]
Forbes: Fed Hikes Rates For Second Time In A Decade, Indicates More To Come In 2017 Article published: Dec 14, 2016 – out of date: no longer suitable for your IB Economics commentary IB Economics syllabus: Macroeconomics (monetary policiey, interest rate) For the second time in over 10 years, the Central Bank of the U.S. (known as [...]
CNN Money: Macy's sales slump as foreign tourists stop spending Article published: May 13, 2015 - out of date: no longer suitable for your IB Economics commentary IB Economics syllabus: International Economics (exchange rates, export prices) As the USD got stronger, tourists in the U.S. started spending less (especially when it comes to luxuries). Source of image: Kena [...]
Businessweek: Jobless Claims in U.S. Over Past Month Lowest in 15 Years Article published: Apr 9, 2015 - out of date: no longer suitable for your IB Economics commentary IB Economics syllabus: Macroeconomics (unemployment) It seems that the American labour market is improving as "jobless claims averaged 282,250 a week, the lowest since June 2000." Source of image: [...]
The Washington Post: Obama calls for effort to boost high-tech training, hiring Article published: Mar 9, 2015 - out of date: no longer suitable for your IB Economics commentary IB Economics syllabus: Macroeconomics (govt' spending, employment, education/training) 'Obama called on employers, educational institutions and local governments to develop a home grown high technology workforce that could help drive [...]
Reuters: U.S. agriculture delegation visits Cuba, protests embargo Article published: Mar 2, 2015 - out of date: no longer suitable for your IB Economics commentary IB Economics syllabus: Microeconomics (opening up new markets - boosting demand) and International Economics (trade agreements) Source of image: endthesanctions.com Do you need a little boost with IB Economics? Register for private lessons here. [...]
LA Times: U.S. wine exports in 2014 second highest on record Article published: Feb 25, 2015 - out of date: no longer suitable for your IB Economics commentary IB Economics syllabus: International economics Source of image: Santa Barbara Wineries, aluncboxblog.com Do you need a little boost with IB Economics? Register for private lessons here. Looking for more articles? Click [...]
The Washington Post: What do falling oil prices mean for the U.S. in the short and long term? Article published: Feb 14, 2015 - out of date: no longer suitable for your IB Economics commentary IB Economics syllabus: Microeconomics A bit longish article but provides a great analysis of how the U.S. economy is influenced by the [...]
CNN Money: End of OPEC is closer to reality Article published: Feb 10, 2015 - out of date: no longer suitable for your IB Economics commentary IB Economics syllabus: Microeconomics and International Economics Source of image: IT Works for Business You might also want to have a look at these charts about oil output, demand and U.S. [...]
Time: How the Fed Will React to Today’s Surprising Jobs News Article published: Sep 5, 2014 - out of date: no longer suitable for your IB Economics commentary IB Economics syllabus: Section 2, Macroeconomics It turns out that there have been less jobs created in August in the US than the average of the 6 months [...]