Macro Briefing: 5 June 2018

Iran set to resume enriching uranium if nuclear deal fails: BBC
S. Korea downplays odds for peace treaty at upcoming US-N. Korea summit: WSJ
Twitter stock pops on news it will be added to S&P 500: CNBC
Will Trump’s trade war derail the global economy? Bloomberg
PMI: Eurozone economic growth rate dips to 1-1/2 year low in May: IHS Markit
US factory orders in April slide on weak demand for aircraft: Reuters
NABE economists: Trump’s tax cuts could trigger US recession: Money Magazine
Wall St economists expect strong pickup in US Q2 GDP growth: CNBC
10yr/2yr Treasury yield spread close to setting new low:

Macro Briefing: 4 June 2018

China warns US that trade deals are void if tariffs are imposed: BBC
US allies push for Trump to rethink US trade policy: Bloomberg
US considering more South China Sea patrols to confront China: Reuters
GOP is cool to idea that Trump could pardon himself: The Hill
ISM: US manufacturing sector growth strengthened in May: MarketWatch
US Mfg PMI: “marked improvement in May: IHS Markit
US construction spending surged in Apr from strong home building: LA Times
US payrolls rose 223,000 in May, the most in three months: NY Times

Book Bits | 2 June 2018

Tailspin: The People and Forces Behind America’s Fifty-Year Fall–and Those Fighting to Reverse It
By Steven Brill
Review via Salon
Lawyer, journalist and entrepreneur Steven Brill has just published an important new book, “Tailspin: The People and Forces Behind America’s Fifty-Year Fall — and Those Fighting to Reverse It,” with an excerpt published by Time magazine last week. His thesis is quite simple at its core, as expressed by Yale Law School professor Daniel Markovits, at the graduation ceremony for the class of 2015. Over the past 50 years, American meritocracy has become, in a way, its opposite, “a mechanism for the dynastic transmission of wealth and privilege across generations. Meritocracy now constitutes a modern-day aristocracy.”
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Macro Briefing: 1 June 2018

US allies respond to Trump’s trade tariffs: Reuters
N. Korean leader meets with Russia’s foreign minister: AP
Italy’s populist parties receive OK to form government: NY Times
China PMI: modest manufacturing growth continued in May: MarketWatch
US Chamber of Commerce: US trade policy threatens 2.6 million jobs: CNN Money
US consumer spending accelerated to 5-month high in April: Reuters
Jobless claims in US remain low, slipping to 221,000: MarketWatch
US job cuts fell 4.8% in May from year ago: Challenger Gray & Christmas
US pending home sales fell in Apr, extend annual slide to fourth month: Builder
Annual smartphone growth was flat in 2017: Kleiner Perkins 

Macro Briefing: 31 May 2018

Secretary of State Pompeo dines with top N. Korean official in NY: CBS
Trump set to impose steel, aluminum tariffs on Europe on Thursday: Reuters
Federal Reserve takes steps to loosen Volcker rule on big banks: The Hill
US Q1 GDP growth revised down to 2.2% from 2.3%: MarketWatch
Higher energy prices trigger sharp rise in Eurozone inflation in May: AP
Fed’s Beige Book: US economy grew moderately as manufacturing picks up: WSJ
Economists raise expectations for US Q2 GDP growth: Bloomberg
US trade deficit narrowed in April to six-month low: Bloomberg
ADP: US private-sector job growth picks up to 178,000 gain in May: USA Today