The US is withdrawing its remaining personnel from the embassy in Venezuela:
AP
The White House has released its budget proposal, which is expected to face significant opposition:
The Hill
US small-business owners are feeling less optimistic about the current business climate:
Gallup
The UK Prime Minister has secured new concessions from the EU ahead of a crucial Brexit vote:
WSJ
UK economic growth saw a recovery in January following a sluggish December:
Reuters
Turkey has entered a recession for the first time in a decade:
Bloomberg
US business inventories increased in December as sales experienced the largest decline in three years:
Reuters
US retail sales had a bounce-back in January; losses from December were revised down further:
CNBC
The US core Consumer Price Index (CPI) is expected to hold steady at an annual rate of 2.1% for February:
A broad indicator of US investment-grade bonds ascended to a new peak last week amid a global stock decline. This shift in sentiment towards risk aversion was partly influenced by a starkly negative report regarding US payroll growth in February.
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Boeing’s 737 Max may face a global grounding following the Ethiopian Airlines crash:
Bloomberg
President Trump will request $8.6 billion for the border wall in the upcoming budget proposal:
Reuters
Iran’s president makes his inaugural visit to Iraq:
ABC
German industrial output declined in January due to a significant decrease in auto production:
Reuters
The UK government claims that Brexit negotiations are at an impasse:
Bloomberg
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell states that the law prevents Trump from firing him:
CNBC
US residential construction increased more than anticipated in January:
CNBC
Weak jobs data for February in the US indicates a slowdown in economic growth for 2019:
Bloomberg
Federal Reserve’s economic projections have overestimated US growth over the past decade:
NY Times
The Big Nine: How the Tech Titans and Their Thinking Machines Could Warp Humanity
By Amy Webb
Review via Marketplace.org
The realm of artificial intelligence (AI) is upon us, influencing our decisions in myriad ways—from the shows we binge on Netflix to the smart suggestions in our Gmail accounts. Futurist Amy Webb warns that if current trends continue, we may not like the future that unfolds.
She highlights a growing divide in AI development, with six American companies—Google, IBM, Amazon, Facebook, Microsoft, and Apple—on one side, and three Chinese firms—Baidu, Tencent, and Alibaba—on the other. However, neither nation has adopted a technology policy that prioritizes human welfare and the future of humanity.
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Economists had anticipated a slight slowdown in growth for February, but the actual figures showed a significant downturn. Hiring among US companies nearly stagnated last month, rising by just 25,000 jobs—a stark contrast to a robust gain of 308,000 in January, as reported by the Labor Department.
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The recent rally in the US stock market this year has cast doubt on earlier predictions of a bear market made at the end of 2018 and reiterated in late January. A recent iteration of The Capital Spectator’s application of the Hidden Markov Model (HMM) to assess overall market trends still observes a bearish sentiment.
Though market enthusiasm is on the rise in 2019 after a significant dip late last year, the model indicates that a bearish bias remains, suggesting that the current upward momentum may simply be a rally within a bear market.
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The European Central Bank (ECB) is renewing some stimulus measures as the global economy slows:
NY Times
German factory orders declined in January, signaling a continued economic slowdown:
Bloomberg
China’s exports plummeted by 21% in February:
CNBC
Federal Reserve Governor Lael Brainard notes that the macroeconomic outlook supports a “softer” rate path:
Bloomberg
US consumer debt rose in January, indicating potential support for consumer spending:
Bloomberg
Job cuts in the US surged to a 3.5-year high in February:
CG&C
US jobless claims decreased in early March, indicating a robust labor market:
MW
A search for undervalued and distressed assets viewed through the lens of ETFs continues to highlight commodities. While there are instances of considerable value in other asset classes, the strongest trends still favor funds focusing on raw materials, echoing findings from The Capital Spectator’s previous review of ETFs that have lost appeal.
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China’s Huawei has filed a lawsuit against the US government for banning its technology:
CNN
The US reports an increase in Chinese military activity in the South China Sea:
Bloomberg
US senators claim the Saudi crown prince has turned to “full gangster” tactics:
Reuters
Japan’s GDP growth for Q4 has been adjusted upward:
MNI
The growth of the US service sector indicates that the Fed’s rate pause may soon conclude:
Bloomberg
In 2018, the US trade deficit in goods reached unprecedented levels:
WSJ
Private-sector job growth in the US was steady in February, keeping pace at over 2% annually:
ADP
Early forecasts for US economic growth in the first quarter indicate that the slowdown experienced during the second half of 2018 is likely to continue. The exact impact of this deceleration remains a topic of discussion, as it is still early in the quarter. Furthermore, survey data from February shows signs of improvement in the services sector, suggesting a potential stabilization in macroeconomic trends.
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