BUSINESS NEWS FEBRUARY 13TH, 2016
CAN TRUMP BRING JOBS BACK?
Despite an eight year low in unemployment, bringing jobs back to America was a hot button issue in the Republican Presidential Debate in South Carolina Saturday. Frontrunner Donald Trump promised to bring back jobs from various countries around the world, including China, Mexico and “the new one”, Vietnam. Many economists have expressed skepticism at this proclamation, as a majority of outsourced jobs are in the manufacturing sector, making them incredibly difficult to bring back to the United States. Trump’s plan included a 45% tariff as well as a corporate tax rate of 15%, in order to encourage businesses to stay domestic.
OIL’S ROLLERCOASTER CONTINUES
Crude oil has been dropping and surging in arguably the craziest start to the year ever. January saw oil stocks drop tremendously, to $26.05 a barrel, only to gain a few percentage points at the beginning of February. However, on Saturday, oil stocks rose 12.3% to $29.44 a barrel, in the largest spike since 2009. This sudden upshoot provided a much needed stimulus to the United States economy, making the economic outlook brighter.
BANKING REGULATIONS REMAIN STRICT
In light of falling bank shares, members of the Eurogroup have been calling for looser banking regulations, in order to restore confidence in banks. However, Jeroen Dijsselbloem, chairman of the Eurogroup, rejected these proposals, saying that loosening rules would do just the opposite. He said that the stricter regulations that had been implemented after the 2007 financial crisis would bring banks back to their original standing.
STOCK STRUGGLES LOOK TO BE ENDING
Among fears that the S&P 500 is down 13%, and oil struggles to break $30 a barrel, investors have continued to push away risky purchases. However, data on trading within the day may indicate that investors are starting to become less fearful of volatile stocks. Late day trading has begun to grow in recent weeks, which is viewed by Jack Ablin, chief investment officer at BMO Private Bank in Chicago, as a positive sign. He says that when investors buy at the end of the day, the market closes on a positive trend, creating the impression of buyers.