Economics in the News – Jan. 13-19

Economics impacts our lives every day. Below are some of the top storylines from this past week in economic news. 

• Is the Federal Reserve losing some of its power in defending against a recession? Its primary tool to fight recessions is to lower the federal funds rate which impacts other rates in the economy. But what happens when the federal funds rate is less than 2%? The Wall Street Journal reports how monetary policy may impede the Federal Reserve.
  
  
• The United States and China signed a trade deal Wednesday. The BBC looks at what the agreement means for both countries by reviewing the winners and losers in the deal.
  
  
• House Democrats carried the formal articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump to the Senate Wednesday afternoon, as reported by The Associated Press. President Donald Trump is the third president in American history to face a trial for removal from office, following the House’s impeachment of Trump last month.
  
  
• The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed higher than 29,000 for the first time Wednesday, marking another milestone for the bull market. Reuters reports that the market moved due to the newly signed trade agreement between the US and China. In addition to the Dow, the S&P 500 (3,289.3) closed at a record high while the Nasdaq Composite (9,258.70) finished just shy of its record high.
  
  
• Google parent company Alphabet Inc. became the fourth US company to cross the $1 trillion market valuation Thursday. According to The Wall Street Journal, Alphabet joined Apple and Microsoft as the only companies with a market capitalization above the $1 trillion mark. Amazon reached the mark during intraday trading in September 2018 but never closed above the $1 trillion valuation.