Editor's Note: Some linked articles may be behind subscription paywalls.
1. US economy hurting from layoffs, cuts in federal spending
Freezes on government funding, layoffs of thousands of federal workers and threats of tariffs are putting a strain on the U.S. economy, the New York Times reports. Consumer sentiment is dropping, inflation is expected to continue to rise and business investment plans are being put on hold.
Job cuts related to the Department of Government Efficiency could rise to 1 million when accounting for government contractors. Local governments are being cut off from previously promised government funding on projects, forcing them to seek other ways to raise revenues. Morgan Stanley economists are projecting that tariffs imposed by the U.S. would raise inflation.
“There’s more uncertainty than I think is widely appreciated,” said Michael Strain, an economist at the American Enterprise Institute. “All the uncertainty around trade policy, uncertainty around some of the things that the Department of Government Efficiency is doing, I think will have a chilling effect on investment plans and expansion plans.”
2. Tariffs set to take effect next week
U.S. President Donald Trump confirmed plans on Thursday to impose tariffs of 25% on Mexican and Canadian goods and an additional 10% on Chinese imports starting on March 4, CNN reports. On Wednesday, Trump said the tariffs would begin nearly a month later on April 2.
“We cannot allow this scourge to continue to harm the USA, and therefore, until it stops, or is seriously limited, the proposed [tariffs] scheduled to go into effect on [March 4] will, indeed, go into effect, as scheduled,” he said in a post on his Truth Social platform.
In addition to the tariffs set to start next week, Trump said on Wednesday that he may impose 25% tariffs on imports from the European Union as well, saying the region has "really taken advantage" of the U.S., CNBC reports.
3. RLJ CEO says business travel mix is different
In RLJ Lodging Trust's fourth-quarter and full-year 2024 earnings call on Wednesday, President and CEO Leslie Hale said business travel continued an upward trajectory toward pre-pandemic numbers, HNN's Sean McCracken reports. Across RLJ's portfolio, business-transient demand is at about 81% of what it was in 2019.
As that number continues to climb, Hale said business travel looks different to what it was back in 2019.
"Keep in mind that people are working different today," Hale said. "So you have that infamous word 'bleisure' and how that's sort of playing out today. I think at the end of the day, we've always thought that aggregate demand would exceed the prior peak, but we always knew that the puts and takes would be slightly different. The point isn't so much that we're projecting [business transient] is going to get back to its historical relationship. What we're saying is there's room to grow, and we don't know exactly where it's going to land, but we think it's going to improve from where it's at today."
4. Eurozone business sentiment rises in February
According to the European Commission, its indicator of economic sentiment increased to 96.3 this month from 95.3 in January. The increase can be attributed to lower interest rates, which could fall even more when the European Central Bank meets next week, the Wall Street Journal reports.
Despite the positive turn in business sentiment, the threat of tariffs from the U.S. could affect trade in the region. If the U.S. were to impose a 25% tariff on the European Union, there would likely be a swift retaliatory tariff imposed back.
“Unjustified tariffs on the EU will not go unanswered; they will trigger firm and proportionate countermeasures,” EU executive president Ursula von der Leyen said.
5. Weekly US unemployment numbers rise
U.S. jobless claims for the week ending Feb. 22 rose 22,000 to 242,000, the highest level of claims since October 2024, CNBC reports. Dow Jones estimated the number would come in at 225,000.
"President Donald Trump has been taking aggressive measures to reduce the federal workforce through Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency advisory board. The efforts to far have resulted in thousands of jobs cuts and are expected to continue," the news outlet reports.