°®¶¹´«Ã½

President Donald Trump said the current trade spat with China may hurt the markets in the short term but that America will emerge stronger from it, as a confrontation that has roiled global equities heats up between the world’s largest economies.

Ford Motor Co., the largest producer of cars and trucks in the United States, remains concerned about major modifications to the North American Free Trade Agreement, even after President Donald Trump’s negotiators were said to have softened demands.

Republicans are warning President Donald Trump that a trade war with China would deal an economic blow to politically important areas of the country that will cost the party in November’s congressional elections.

U.S. filings for unemployment benefits rose more than expected last week to the highest in almost three months amid holidays that may have played a role in the increase, Labor Department figures showed April 5.

U.S. consumer sentiment advanced last week to a 17-year high as greater optimism about household finances and the buying climate more than offset a deterioration in views about the economy, the Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index showed April 5.

The U.S. trade deficit widened by more than forecast to a fresh nine-year high in February amid broad-based demand for imports, ahead of Trump administration tariffs that have raised the specter of a trade war.

The latest tariff salvos between the United States and China have brought a trade war closer to reality. It’s a risk that the world’s biggest economy is well-positioned to ride out.

Tit-for-tat tariff threats from the United States and China ignited fears that a trade war is beginning between the world’s two largest economies, lowering U.S. stock futures.

Growth in U.S. service industries cooled in March for a second month as orders settled back from the fastest pace in more than 12 years, a survey from the Institute for Supply Management showed April 4.

Companies added more workers than forecast to U.S. payrolls in March, signaling the job market remains robust, according to data released April 4 from the ADP Research Institute in Roseland, N.J.