PODCAST: Why This Recession is Different

Since Israel started its “new” war against Lebanon at the beginning of the month, over 1,000 people have been killed. The formal numbers from the Lebanese Health Ministry say that includes 79 women, 118 children, and at least 40 healthcare workers. The healthcare workers are a growing problem, as Amnesty International issued a new report […]

US Services Surveys Disappoint In April Amid Stench Of Stagflation Despite Manufacturing surveys solid (and US factory orders surging), expectations are for the Services sector surveys today to show stagflationary signals (weak growth, surging prices). S&P Global's Services PMI disappointed in April (final), falling from its flash print of 51.3 to 51.0, but still up from multi-year lows below 50 in March, showing just marginal activity growth despite weak drop in sales volumes. ISM Services PMI also disappointed in April, falling from 54.0 to 53.6 (vs 53.7 exp) amid tumbling new orders and...

Bessent Leads Trade Talks With China In Paris Ahead Of Trump-Xi Summit Ahead of the upcoming Trump-Xi summit, China and US have begun a fresh round of trade talks to set the stage for the main event.  Trade negotiators led by US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and China’s Vice Premier He Lifeng held talks in Paris on Sunday to map out plans for a leaders’ summit later this month. The first day of the talks concluded around 6 pm local time, and the delegations will meet again on Monday, Bloomberg reported. The trade...