Lost (so far) in the debate over the federal deficit and debt ceiling is perhaps the most basic question: What is the goal of federal deficit reduction? That is a key point for Congress to keep in mind as it goes about putting together a long-term deficit reduction plan in the next two months. Is the goal to achieve balanced spending first and let the debt situation catch up, or is it to reduce the federal debt to a certain goal and let spending adjust? According to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO):
Balancing the federal budget by 2020 would require policy changes that save roughly $1 trillion in that year relative to the baseline (with interest savings contributing the remaining deficit reduction). Maintaining a balanced budget in...
What You Need to Know Today: Cattle futures extended their sharp selloff Friday as weakening cash cattle prices, deteriorating feedlot profitability, and reduced packer demand continued to weigh on the market. The inability of futures to sustain a rally following last week's bullish Cattle on...
As predicted, the Federal Reserve held rates steady at the last meeting before the midterm elections, likely in part because of the election (see WPI 19 October and 22 September). The decision comes at the tail end of a midterm election cycle that has been marked by the two parties campaigning...
Key Takeaways: The tariff burden rose sharply in 2025 and 2026: the effective rate on imports in HTS Chapters 1–24 increased from 1.53 percent in 2024 to 6.11 percent in 2025, before averaging 5.68 percent in January–August 2026. Headline rates tell only part of the story: exemptio...
