Peter Morici

U.S. erroneously believes trade with China would encourage democratic reform

Multinational business leaders, international civil servants, journalists and mainstream economists are bewailing deglobalization and the erosion of the trading system enabled by the World Trade Organization.

November 21, 2023

Bonds are still good for your retirement and college savings

Stocks and bonds have taken a drubbing lately, and many people who manage investments for their retirement are questioning some ancient advice -- placing 60% in equities and reserving 40% for bonds.

November 14, 2023

‘Bidenomics’ is a bust, and even Democrats don’t want him to run again

The economy is improving, but President Biden doesn't get much credit. Now it appears that could be enough to cost him his job.

November 7, 2023

Why a 5% 10-year Treasury rate and big deficits are so menacing

Since midsummer, interest rates have been surging. This will have painful implications for the sustainability of federal spending -- particularly on entitlements and defense - -and the vitality of the economy.

October 31, 2023

Getting U.S. trade with China right

American policy toward China is 80% correct, but in the other 20% lies America's great vulnerability.

October 24, 2023

The Fed’s quest for a soft landing

The Federal Reserve is trying to catch a unicorn by maintaining interest rates just high enough to bring inflation down to 2% without instigating a recession and painful levels of unemployment.

October 17, 2023

Fiction writers are wrong in demanding control of and compensation for artificial intelligence

Fiction writers are in an uproar about artificial intelligence creating new competition. They want large language models to either stop training on their work or for writers to be paid royalties.

October 9, 2023

As Fed hesitates, Americans heading for more inflation

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell is trying to thread a needle -- tame inflation that peaked at 9.1% in June 2022 while avoiding an economic slowdown.

October 3, 2023

Biden’s economy is not enough to deliver White House to Trump

The economy and the polls have been delivering both good and bad news to President Biden lately, but Republicans have more to worry about than he does.

September 26, 2023

The folly of Trump and Biden’s trade protectionism

Trade with China and tariffs will be central in the 2024 presidential campaign, and the destructive trade policies of President Biden and former President Donald Trump will invite Americans into a perilous fixation.

September 19, 2023

Don’t cry for China’s collapsing economy

The Biden administration is getting smug and too worried about China's economy.

September 12, 2023

Biden’s hypocrisy on addressing homelessness

Homeless encampments under interstate overpasses and in other public spaces in our cities create the appearance of a new epidemic, but homelessness has been endemic to urban life for nearly two centuries.

September 5, 2023

Americans should brace for permanently high interest rates

Recent economic news has been good at raising optimism about a soft landing and speculation about where interest rates will ultimately settle.

August 29, 2023

Big government threatens U.S. dollar’s global status

The United States prints the world's money, and Western sanctions are teaching Russia and Iran some hard lessons, because foreign banks and nonaligned governments have found it costly to run afoul of our Treasury.

August 22, 2023

A third-party candidate could become president

August is a great time for columnists to float fanciful ideas. The news cycle slows, vacationing readers have more patience. Enter a third-party candidate for president.

August 15, 2023

U.S. must isolate China and continue to expand industrial and trade agreements

President Biden's industrial and trade policies have proved to be a lightning rod.

August 8, 2023

Strict curbs on artificial intelligence would hurt striking writers and actors

Hollywood actors and writers are striking an industry in crisis. The dilemmas all face are a dress rehearsal for how Americans will cope with the growing gig economy and artificial intelligence.

August 1, 2023

How to invest in a high-inflation, high-interest-rate environment

The Federal Reserve has pushed interest rates to their highest level in two decades. The relevant investing question is not how high those will go, but where interest rates will settle once the Fed is done.

July 25, 2023

Whether decoupling or de-risking, trading with China will remain perilous

Presidents Trump and Biden don't share a lot in terms of style or substance, but in two areas, continuity prevails: a commitment to limiting the risks of doing business with China and a suspicion of unmanaged, market-driven globalization.

July 18, 2023