Already, builders in the United States are erecting fewer single-family homes. For the past month, economic data in the United States, Japan and the euro zone consistently has failed to meet analysts’ expectations, according to a Citigroup Global Markets index of economic surprises. FedEx illustrates how economic weakness outside the United States is rippling through the corporate world. That was expected to lead to slower economic growth, but the U.S. imposition of tariffs on more than $250 billion in Chinese imports has worsened the downturn. But lower prices will sap investment spending by oil and gas companies in the United States and elsewhere.

Source: Washington Post December 25, 2018 23:45 UTC