House Dems launch investigation into Trump administration’s Saudi deals: The Hill
Deputy Transportation Sec. Rosen to be nominated as dep. att. general: Politico
U.K. Prime Minister heads to Brussels to save Brexit deal: MW
Taiwan president says that China poses global threat: CNN
A China state-run newspaper warns of fallout from new US tariffs: CNBC
Walmart’s fiscal Q4 earnings surged: CNBC
Today’s release of Fed minutes may shed light on policy change: Bloomberg
Is the housing market too weak to trigger the next recession? NY Times
US home builder confidence increased for a second month in Feb: BB

Recent reports from the housing sector point to a new round of weakness in this critical slice of the US economy, potentially raising a warning flag for the year ahead. The jury’s still out, in part because a critical update has been delayed, due to the partial government shutdown that ended late last month. The Census Bureau has rescheduled the December figures on residential housing construction for next week (Feb. 26). Using a variety of sources to forecast the update suggests the numbers will bring a mixed bag of news.
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16 states sue to stop Trump’s use of emergency powers to build wall: The Hill
Trump warns Venezuela’s military to abandon Maduro or ‘lose everything’: Reuters
Global growth is estimated at weakest pace since financial crisis: Bloomberg
New round of US-China trade talks set to start today: Reuters
Huawei founder says arrest of firm’s CFO is politically motivated: CNBC
Are securities regulations too lax for index funds? NY Times
Honda announces plan to close UK factory as Brexit deadline nears CNN
US Treasury market trading opens this week with 10yr-2yr spread at 2-month low:

Equities in the US generated the strongest performance last week for the major asset classes, based on a set of exchange-traded products. By contrast, foreign bonds posted losses, representing the weakest results for the trading week through Feb. 15.
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Trump expected to demand that Venezuela’s Maduro step down: Bloomberg
ECB executive board member: Europe’s slowdown is “significant”: Bloomberg
Trump set to veto vote in Congress that rejects emergency declaration: The Hill
US stocks and bonds sending conflicting macro messages: CNBC
Foreign hackers ramp up cyber attacks on US companies: NY Times
Import prices for US fell for a third straight month: Newsmax
US industrial output fell in Jan for first time in 8 months: MW
NY Fed Mfg Index increased in Feb following weak reading in Jan: MW
US Consumer Sentiment Index rebounded in Feb after sharp drop: UoM

● Trade and American Leadership: The Paradoxes of Power and Wealth from Alexander Hamilton to Donald Trump
By Craig VanGrasstek
Summary via publisher (Cambridge University Press)
From the days of Alexander Hamilton to the trade wars of Donald Trump, trade policy has been a key instrument of American power and wealth. The open trading system that the United States sponsored after the Second World War serves US interests by promoting cooperation and prosperity, but also allows the allies to become more independent and China to rise. The case studies in Trade and American Leadership examine how the value of preferential trade programs is undercut by the multilateral liberalization that the United States promoted for generations, and how trade sanctions tend either to be too economically costly to impose or too modest to matter. These problems are exacerbated by a domestic political system in which the gains from trade are unevenly distributed, power is fragmented, and strategies are easily undermined. Trade and American Leadership places special emphasis on today’s challenges, and the rising danger of economic nationalism.
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The unexpected drop in retail sales in December has raised uncertainty about the upcoming report on fourth-quarter gross domestic product (GDP). Prior to yesterday’s update on consumer spending for the final month of 2018 most estimates of the Q4 economic activity reflected moderate growth in the mid-to-high 2% range. But the St. Louis Fed’s GDPNow model slashed the Q4 outlook to a sluggish 1.5% after the release of retail sales data. That GDP estimate is an outlier on the downside at the moment. The question is whether nowcasts from other sources will fall in the days ahead as the latest retail data factors into the calculus?
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Congress sends legislation to Trump to avoid shutdown: Bloomberg
Legal challenges await Trump’s decision to call a nat’l emergency: Reuters
US-China trade talks set to continue, but no deal so far: SCMP
As federal debt rises to record, politicians are mum: NY Times
China’s banks lend record amount in Jan in bid to stimulate economy: Reuters
Amazon cancels plans to build a New York City headquarters: WSJ
US jobless claims rose last week, remaining at relatively elevated level: Bloomberg
Business inventories in US slipped in November: MW
Producer price index for US fell for a second month in January: Reuters
US retail spending fell sharply in December–biggest slide in over 9 years: CNBC

The year-to-date rally in the US stock market has lifted all the major equity sectors, based on a set of ETFs. Leading the field: shares in the industrials sector, which has a sizable performance edge over the rest of the market.
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Washington waits to see if Trump will sign law and avert gov’t shutdown: CNN
Trump considering 60-day extension for China tariff deadline: CNBC
Germany’s economic performance was flat in 2018’s Q4: Bloomberg
China reports better-than-expected news on trade data for Jan: CNBC
House passes bill to end US support of Saudi Arabria’s war in Yemen: The Hill
Business inflation expectations in Feb eased to 1.9%: Atlanta Fed
Headline consumer inflation slowed to a 1.6% annual pace for US in Jan: MW