US market growth unaffected by Trump administration scandals
WASHINGTON- Trump Administration scandals did not prevent U.S. markets from producing record earnings at the end of the first quarter of 2017.
When U.S. Markets closed on the Friday the Dow Jones Industrial Average had eclipsed 20,660. The NASDAQ surpassed 5,910 and the S&P 500 exceeded 2,360.
Since the beginning of the year the Dow has risen nearly five percent. The NASDAQ has jumped nearly ten percent and the S&P 500 has increased nearly six percent.
Most analysts historically have agreed that political and economic uncertainty can lead to a plunge in stock prices but ongoing House, Senate, and FBI investigations into alleged collusion between members of the Trump campaign and high-ranking Russian officials does not appear to have dented consumer confidence.
Neither has Trump’s Twitter criticism of Chinese trade policies just days before president Xi Jinping is scheduled to visit the U.S.
China is America’s largest creditor and purchaser of debt.
President Trump often has blasted China for engaging in currency manipulation and has promised that his administration will counteract Beijing trade policies that are believed to have contributed to America’s declining manufacturing sector.
The Trump Administration has proposed $1 trillion in new infrastructure spending in an effort boost the manufacturing sector and put unemployed Americans back to work.
Trump on Friday suggested that his economic policies have yielded dividends as he summarized the findings of a recent survey taken by the National Association of Manufacturers contending that more than 90 percent of manufacturing executives are confident about future market prospects – the highest optimism index in 20 years since the Association starting doing the survey.
“It’s a surge of optimism that is spreading all across our land,” the President said. “These survey results are another vote of confidence in our plan that will bring back jobs, lower taxes, and provide a level playing field our workers.”
Many political pundits have argued that Trump’s protectionist message on trade, which includes threats to impose tariffs on companies that outsource U.S. jobs, enabled the Republican to carry rust-belt states such Michigan, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania-all of which were believed to be safely in Democrat Hillary Clinton’s column.
This article is republished with permission from Talk Media News
Bryan is an award-winning political journalist who has extensive experience covering Congress and Maryland state government.
His work includes coverage of the election of Donald Trump, the confirmation hearings of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh and attorneys general William Barr and Jeff Sessions-as well as that of the Maryland General Assembly, Gov. Larry Hogan, and the COVID-19 pandemic.
Bryan has broken stories involving athletic and sexual assault scandals with the Baltimore Post-Examiner.
His original UMBC investigation gained international attention, was featured in People Magazine and he was interviewed by ABC’s “Good Morning America” and local radio stations. Bryan broke subsequent stories documenting UMBC’s omission of a sexual assault on their daily crime log and a federal investigation related to the university’s handling of an alleged sexual assault.