The American economy grew at a solid 2.3% annual rate the last three months of 2024, supported by a burst of year-end consumer spending, the government said, leaving unchanged its initial estimate of fourth-quarter growth.
After lowering its benchmark interest rate three times in the last four months of 2024, the Federal Reserve left it unchanged in January and appears to be in no hurry to start cutting again.
President Donald Trump's plans to impose tax imports at a scale not seen since the 1930s risks raising prices and intensifying inflationary pressure.
Deporting millions of immigrants working in the country illegally, as Trump has promised, could also create labor shortages that push up wages and feed inflation.
The outlook for 2025 is cloudier as President Donald Trump pursues trade wars, cutbacks in the federal workforce and mass deportations.
