Over the last week, American workers, businesses, and families have seen further news showing that America’s economy is back.
MARKETWATCH: S&P 500 Breaks 54-Year-Old Record For All-Time Highs Notched In January
“The U.S. stock market’s list of records seems to grow longer by the day. On Tuesday, the S&P 500 ended at its latest in a string of closing record highs, with its 12th record close of the year so far. This marks the first time the benchmark index has notched so many record closes in the month of January, topping a previous record of 11 that has stood since 1964, according to the WSJ Market Data Group…. The Nasdaq Composite Index also ended at a record level Tuesday, its 12th record high of the month. That’s the most January closing records for that index since 1980, when it posted 13 over the month, kicking off a year that ended with 62 records.”
CNBC: The Dow’s 31% Gain During Trump’s First Year Is The Best Since FDR
“Donald Trump lifted the Dow Jones industrial average in his first year in office more than any other president since Franklin Roosevelt. The Dow has surged more than 31 percent since Trump’s inauguration on Jan. 20, 2017. That marks the index’s best performance during a president’s first year since Roosevelt. The Dow skyrocketed 96.5 percent during Roosevelt’s first year in office….Trump quickly moved to cut regulations enacted by previous administrations. He also successfully pushed to overhaul the U.S. tax code. That revamp included slashing the corporate tax rate to 21 percent from 35 percent.”
NATIONAL REVIEW: IMF Credits U.S. Tax Cuts With Uptick In Global Growth
“The International Monetary Fund (IMF) adjusted its forecast for world economic growth in both 2018 and 2019 up to 3.9 percent (an uptick of 0.2 percentage points from its last forecast), crediting the expected impact of the U.S. Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. In addition, it predicts real GDP in the U.S. will be 1.2 percent higher by 2022 than it would have been without tax reform. It also predicts 2.7 percent annual growth in the U.S. in 2018 (up from 2.3 percent).”
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS: US Economy Grew At Solid 2.6 Percent Rate In Fourth Quarter
“The U.S. economy grew at a solid rate of 2.6 percent in the final three months of last year, helped by the fastest consumer spending since the spring of 2016 and a big rebound in home construction. The fourth quarter advance in the gross domestic product, the country’s total output of goods and services, followed gains of just above 3 percent in the second and third quarters, the Commerce Department reported Friday.”
THE HILL: Poll: Satisfaction With Economy Reaches 17-Year High
“American satisfaction with the U.S. economy has reached a 17-year high, according to a new NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll. Sixty-nine percent of respondents in the survey released Friday say they are satisfied with the state of the U.S. economy, marking the highest level since 2001.”
WASHINGTON EXAMINER: Jobless Claims Stuck Near Lowest Levels In Decades At 233,000
“New applications for unemployment benefits rose 17,000 to 233,000 in the third week of January, the Department of Labor reported Thursday. Forecasters had expected jobless claims to tick up to around 240,000, after scraping the lowest level in nearly 45 years the week before. Low claims are a good sign. They suggest that layoffs are rare and that hiring is strong. Economists and officials at the Federal Reserve pay attention to the numbers because they are released weekly.”
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL: The Tax Law, Just One Month Old, Is Roaring Through U.S. Companies
“Just weeks after the federal government adopted the biggest tax overhaul in three decades, the effects are rippling through corner offices and boardrooms, with companies large and small dusting off once-shelved plans, re-evaluating existing projects and exploring new investment in factories and equipment.”
INVESTOR’S BUSINESS DAILY: Great Again: Disabled Rejoin Workforce In Droves As Economy Gains Steam
“If you want a sign of a growing economy, look at the disability rolls. They’ve been shrinking rapidly of late, as fewer apply for benefits and more disabled return to work. This is very good news….In fact, the number of SSDI applications in 2017 was down 6% from the year before — the biggest one-year decline since 1997, government data show. At the same time, the number of people leaving the program was higher in 2017 than it’s been in more than a decade. As a result, the number of workers collecting federal disability benefits dropped 1.3% last year, which is the biggest annual decline since 1983.”
DETROIT FREE PRESS: DTE Says It Will Cut Rates By 3% After Federal Tax Reform
“Utility bills in Michigan are likely to get a break on their bills within the next few months, as utilities pass along some savings from lower corporate taxes. DTE Energy said Tuesday that it has proposed cutting energy rates by 3% for its average customers, as a result of a reduction in the new federal law. DTE said it expects that nearly $190 million in savings will be passed along to customers in 2018. Customers are expected to see savings as early as May, according to Carly Getz, DTE Energy media relations specialist.”
