This is part of the Trump administration’s effort to relax financial regulations imposed in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis. Officials have sided with the banking industry in arguing that Obama-era rules stifled lenders’ ability to make loans and continue to grow.
But critics say it’s risky, and could lead to a less safe, less transparent financial system. Dennis Kelleher of Better Markets, a financial industry watchdog, told the NYT, “The markets are not going to have the full picture.”
America’s trade deficit breaks a record
President Trump’s aggressive fights over trade are driven by a desire to narrow America’s trade deficit, which he sees as a sign of partners taking advantage of the U.S. But the gap between imports and exports has actually widened, leaving the U.S. with a record trade deficit of $891.3 billion, Jim Tankersley and Ana Swanson of the NYT write:
• “The increase was driven by some factors outside Mr. Trump’s control, like a global economic slowdown and the relative strength of the United States dollar, both of which weakened overseas demand for American goods.”
• “But the widening gap was also exacerbated by Mr. Trump’s $1.5 trillion tax cut,” they add, “and the trade war he escalated last year.”
• “Economists have long warned that Mr. Trump’s tax cuts would ultimately exacerbate a trade deficit he has vowed to reduce, as Americans, flush with extra cash, bought more imported goods.”
• “By his own metric, the president is failing to right America’s global trading relationships.”
But economists aren’t panicking. “I’d rather live in a country that capital is trying to get into, rather than get out of,” Larry Summers, who led the National Economic Council under President Barack Obama, told the NYT. “The reason we have a trade deficit is people are investing in America.”
The E.U. wants new Brexit ideas, fast
Officials in Brussels have reportedly asked Prime Minister Theresa May to offer new proposals that would convince British lawmakers to back her Brexit deal within the next 48 hours, the BBC reports.
