Donald Trump has repeatedly vowed to safeguard the United States from the purported evils of socialism – but critics note that the US president is fine with giving government subsidies to the rich and well-connected. [...]

It will take Ukraine between 50 and 100 years to get to the same level of economic development as its European partners, the World Bank has revealed, as it called on Kiev to boost reforms further. [...]

The gap between the super-rich and the rest of the world has never been wider, with 26 people now owning the same amount of wealth as 3.8 billion of the less privileged, global charity Oxfam said in a new report. [...]

The US economy is booming – but fewer and fewer are reaping the benefits. The Keiser Report crunched the numbers behind America’s dwindling middle class, and warned that the country’s young are in for a rough, debt-ridden future. [...]

Richard D. Wolff is Professor of Economics Emeritus, University of Massachusetts, Amherst where he taught economics from 1973 to 2008. He is currently a Visiting Professor in the Graduate Program in International Affairs of the New School University, New York City. Earlier he taught economics at Yale University (1967-1969) and at the City College of the City University of New York (1969-1973 [...]

Chinese investments in North America and Europe fell by 73 percent last year as a result of tightened US scrutiny of foreign takeover deals and Beijing’s restrictions on outbound investments. Data from law firm Baker & McKenzie showed that Chinese foreign direct investment (FDI) flows into the United States have also turned negative, falling to the lowest in seven years. [...]

Trade turnover between Russia and China soared by nearly 30 percent in 2018, reaching a record number of $107.06 billion, according to the latest report released by China’s General Administration of Customs (GAC). The agency noted that last year Russian imports of Chinese goods increased by 12 percent to $47.98 billion. [...]

A postliterate society is a hypothetical society in which multimedia technology has advanced to the point where literacy, the ability to read or write, is no longer necessary or common. The term appears as early as 1962 in Marshall McLuhan's The Gutenberg Galaxy. Many science-fiction societies are postliterate, as in Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451, Dan Simmons' novel Ilium, and Gary Shteyngart's [...]

Although the latest US jobs report did indicate that 312,000 new non-farm jobs were added to the economy in December of 2018, it should by no means suggest that the US economy is functioning in a perfect manner, Richard Wolff, professor of economics emeritus at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, told Sputnik. [...]

Gold has reached a more than six-month peak rising above $1,300 as investors rushed to seek refuge in the metals after iPhone maker downgraded its revenue forecast and amid fears of a global economic slowdown. The precious metal futures climbed in a second straight session on Thursday after US stocks saw the worst start of the year in more than a decade. [...]

The year-on-year surge in US sovereign debt has totaled $1.37 trillion, the latest data released by the US Treasury Department shows. The national debt reportedly rose to $21,863,635,176,724.12 as of December 20 of the current year compared to $20,492,874,492,282.58 on December 25, 2017. [...]

The Agenda welcomes Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Chris Hedges, who over the past decade and a half has made his name as a columnist, activist and author. He's been a vociferous public critic of presidents on both sides of the American political spectrum, and his latest book, 'America, the Farewell Tour,' is nothing short of a full-throated throttling of the political, social, and cultural [...]

General Motors will lay off 14,700 factory and white-collar workers in North America and put five plants up for possible closure as it restructures to cut costs and focus more on autonomous and electric vehicles. The reduction includes 8,100 white-collar workers, some of whom will take buyouts and others who will be laid off. [...]

Economic experts from major international financials, academic circles, and government agencies say the US is facing mounting risks of a recession due to elevated uncertainty in international trade, a possible slowdown in domestic investment, and rising costs of doing business. [...]

The continued fall of FAANG stocks – Facebook, Apple, Amazon, Netflix and Google – on Monday left the blue-chip basket of equities down almost $730 billion after a six-week sustained decline, stoking investor fears of the US technology sector entering a bear market. [...]

Nearly every media outlet repeats this idea constantly, but it's just not true. With unemployment near record lows, President Donald Trump deserves substantial credit for the strength of the economy, right? This is a common refrain — and not just from Trump's allies. Many in the media point to the economy as a sign of Trump's strength, though these claims are often vague and unsupported. [...]

America Doesn’t Have a True Political Opposition That Offers a New Social Contract — And the Price is Collapse. The day after the election. Another mass shooting. A reporter “banned.” A dubious appointment to high office. Demonization and scapegoating — “they’ve invading us!” — redoubled and unabated. [...]

The Russian economy is currently in good shape, posting its first state budget surplus after years of deficit, according to a report published by the German outlet Welt. This “paradox” may have something to do with the new dynamics of the country’s currency, the ruble, and growing oil prices. [...]

Last week’s stock market nosedive signaled more pain ahead, culminating in a financial catastrophe if the growing economic bubble bursts, says Peter Schiff, CEO of Euro Pacific Capital. [...]