Fox News’ Will Cain on the impact of President Trump testing positive for coronavirus.
Like the economy he created, President Trump is healthy and strong and can recover quickly from coronavirus. On behalf of the entire business community, we wish him a speedy recovery.
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President Trump’s efforts have created the best economy in recent American history. New Census Bureau and Federal Reserve reports show a record increase in American median earnings (especially for minorities), a historic fall in the poverty rate, and reducing income inequality in 2019.
These are just the latest indicators of how the Trump economy’s foundations are well-built and can withstand a pandemic shock — to the nation and its leader.
There’s no good time for an economy or a president to get hit with a pandemic, but if it has to occur, it couldn’t have happened at a better time to a more robust economy or president. (Imagine the national turmoil if this had taken place during the Obama/Biden administration.)
President Trump is now presiding over one of the fastest economic recoveries in the nation’s history. His capital ‘V’-shaped rally is helping Americans quickly get back on their feet, a stark contrast to the slowest recovery in the nation’s history under Obama and Biden following the Great Recession.
Though buried by today’s COVID-19 news, the Labor Department released its monthly jobs report today, revealing that the national unemployment rate has fallen below eight percent — nearly a 50 percent drop in just five months. This is a remarkable achievement. The unemployment rate didn’t get below eight percent under Obama and Biden’s leadership until September 2012 — nearly four years after they were elected.
This unemployment rate isn’t just a number. It represents real lives and livelihoods. And it was achieved thanks to President Trump making difficult decisions. For instance, it would have been easy for Trump to agree to continue supplemental $600 a week federal unemployment benefits as Democrats demanded.
Yet the president’s good sense recognized that this program was creating a disincentive to getting Americans back to work, propping up the unemployment rate. So he fought hard to rein this program in. And the unemployment rate fell significantly as a result.
The president also helped spearhead the Paycheck Protection Program, one of the most successful government aid efforts in the nation’s history. The PPP distributed more than $500 billion worth of forgivable loans to more than five million small businesses, saving over 50 million jobs. (Congress should extend this vital lifeline to small businesses still afflicted by the Covid-19 pandemic.)
Joe Biden would threaten this recovery and the robust American economy if elected. As he reiterated in this week’s presidential debate, he’s open to shutting down the economy again — a move that would devastate American small businesses. He also seems to have little interest in restoring law and order to Main Streets, which have been infected by left-wing riots and violence in recent months, putting another burden on businesses.
Biden wants dramatic tax increases that would suck resources out of communities to Washington.
He’s proposed significant tax increases on small businesses operating as pass-throughs. He has called for a 33 percent tax increase on small businesses structured as corporations. And he wants to eliminate the cap on payroll taxes, creating an onerous new tax burden on employers and employees alike.
Such taxes, combined with his desired radical energy and labor regulations, would cut American small businesses out at their knees.
Biden already had a chance to lead the country through an economic recovery. He failed and doesn’t deserve a second chance.
We hope President Trump makes a swift recovery so that he can quickly return to the campaign trail and make this case directly to voters.
American presidents embody the nation; never has a president done so more effectively for the economy than President Trump. Both he and his economy can withstand this virus. Bernie Marcus is retired co-founder of the Home Depot and founder of the Job Creators Network.
TORONTO – Strength in the base metal and technology sectors helped Canada’s main stock index gain almost 100 points on Friday, while U.S. stock markets also climbed higher.
The S&P/TSX composite index closed up 93.51 points at 23,568.65.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 297.01 points at 41,393.78. The S&P 500 index was up 30.26 points at 5,626.02, while the Nasdaq composite was up 114.30 points at 17,683.98.
The Canadian dollar traded for 73.61 cents US compared with 73.58 cents US on Thursday.
The October crude oil contract was down 32 cents at US$68.65 per barrel and the October natural gas contract was down five cents at US$2.31 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was up US$30.10 at US$2,610.70 an ounce and the December copper contract was up four cents US$4.24 a pound.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
OTTAWA – Statistics Canada says wholesale sales, excluding petroleum, petroleum products, and other hydrocarbons and excluding oilseed and grain, rose 0.4 per cent to $82.7 billion in July.
The increase came as sales in the miscellaneous subsector gained three per cent to reach $10.5 billion in July, helped by strength in the agriculture supplies industry group, which rose 9.2 per cent.
The food, beverage and tobacco subsector added 1.7 per cent to total $15 billion in July.
The personal and household goods subsector fell 2.5 per cent to $12.1 billion.
In volume terms, overall wholesale sales rose 0.5 per cent in July.
Statistics Canada started including oilseed and grain as well as the petroleum and petroleum products subsector as part of wholesale trade last year, but is excluding the data from monthly analysis until there is enough historical data.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index was up more than 150 points in late-morning trading, helped by strength in the base metal and energy sectors, while U.S. stock markets were mixed.
The S&P/TSX composite index was up 172.18 points at 23,383.35.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 34.99 points at 40,826.72. The S&P 500 index was up 10.56 points at 5,564.69, while the Nasdaq composite was up 74.84 points at 17,470.37.
The Canadian dollar traded for 73.55 cents US compared with 73.59 cents US on Wednesday.
The October crude oil contract was up $2.00 at US$69.31 per barrel and the October natural gas contract was up five cents at US$2.32 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was up US$40.00 at US$2,582.40 an ounce and the December copper contract was up six cents at US$4.20 a pound.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
