Rick Newman

Columnist, Yahoo Finance; book author

Jul. 10, 2020

This week in Trumponomics: The COVID backslide begins

It seemed too good to last, and now the evidence is coming in: the economic recovery is stalling as coronavirus cases surge, mostly in the south. A huge surge in rehiring in June offered a brief glimpse of the rapid recovery President Trump and…

Jul. 9, 2020

Biden’s underwhelming economic plan

One problem with Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign was a bland economic plan that made a weak impression on voters. She backed dozens of sensible ideas, but never articulated a compelling vision for supercharging growth and raising living…

Jul. 9, 2020

The real risk to Trump from the Supreme Court ruling on his tax records

There’s now at least one prominent crack in President Trump’s efforts to shield his tax returns and other financial records from investigators. The Supreme Court ruled on July 9 that Trump’s accounting firm must turn over financial records to the…

Jul. 8, 2020

What Biden would do about Trump’s China tariffs

A standout feature of Donald Trump’s presidency has been his tough approach to China on trade. Trump has demanded that China even out a lopsided U.S. trade deficit with China and buy more American products. As leverage, Trump has imposed tariffs on…

Jul. 7, 2020

The small businesses getting bailout loans aren’t what you think

You might think of a small business as your local florist, barbershop, delicatessen or clothing boutique. But the government’s massive list of “small businesses” that received stimulus loans through the Paycheck Protection Program includes many large…

Jul. 6, 2020

A Biden win might boost markets, not quash them

Joe Biden wants to raise taxes, eliminate corporate tax breaks and impose new regulations. With Biden surging ahead of President Trump in 2020 election polls, investors are beginning to worry that a Biden presidency could end the market-friendly…

Jul. 2, 2020

This week in Trumponomics: A premature victory lap

The latest batch of monthly job numbers is a mirage showing what a robust economic recovery might look like in a nation winning the war against the coronavirus. Alas, that is not the United States. Employers added 4.8 million jobs in June, on top of…

Jul. 1, 2020

Edgy voters might reject the 2020 election results

We’ve had close elections before, but political experts are bracing for events that might be unprecedented come November. Surprisingly large portions of both Republicans and Democrats seem poised to challenge the results of the 2020 presidential…

Jun. 30, 2020

Trump’s worst nightmare may be happening

President Trump still has a chance at reelection, but it’s contingent on a quick economic recovery and the containment of the coronavirus. Both may be slipping away. Florida, Texas and California have reversed reopening measures in recent days, as…

Jun. 29, 2020

Hardly any at-home workers have returned to their normal workplace

Americans have made sweeping changes to their work, spending and investing habits, according to the first installment of the new Yahoo Finance-Harris poll. Yahoo Finance has teamed with Harris to produce monthly insights on consumer and workplace…

Jun. 26, 2020

This week in Trumponomics: Assessing President Biden

Before the coronavirus arrived, Trump’s reelection bid looked reasonably solid. Unemployment was extremely low, incomes were rising and the stock market hit one record high after another. Many voters who didn’t like Trump personally could still say…

Jun. 24, 2020

Trump is no longer the best candidate for business

For most of the last three years, investors and business owners have backed President Trump’s handling of the economy, even if they disapproved of his disruptive leadership style. Trump cut taxes and slashed regulation, gifts to corporate America…

Jun. 24, 2020

Why you’re not hearing about Biden’s economic plan

Joe Biden has a slew of proposals for new economic programs, and the tax hikes to pay for them. But the Democratic presidential candidate doesn’t have much to say about his economic plan, even though the nation’s in a deep recession and some fresh…

Jun. 23, 2020

Trump is sabotaging his own reelection

President Trump prefers to think the economy is recovering like a rocket ship. In reality, his passive approach to the coronavirus outbreak and his aversion to a muscular testing program are prolonging a huge spending contraction and imperiling his…

Jun. 19, 2020

This week in Trumponomics: Coronavirus backsliding begins

President Trump insists “we won’t be closing the country again,” no matter how aggressively the coronavirus reasserts itself. But the country might close itself, without him. Apple said June 19 it’s re-closing 11 stores in Arizona, Florida, North…

Jun. 19, 2020

Election Night in November could last for days

On the evening of Nov. 8, 2016, stock market futures began to quiver around 9 pm, then plunge, as election returns started to show Donald Trump heading for a shocking upset win in the U.S. presidential election. The Associated Press gave Trump the…

Jun. 18, 2020

China isn’t helping Trump win reelection, despite Bolton's claim

If it’s true that President Trump asked Chinese President Xi Jinping to help him get reelected in November, he’s not getting the boost he hoped for. In John Bolton’s new book, the former national security adviser writes that in June 2019, at a…

Jun. 17, 2020

How Mike Bloomberg can help Joe Biden

Michael Bloomberg came and went quickly in the 2020 presidential campaign. He entered the race last November, spent $1 billion on staff and ads, rose briefly in the polls, then quit on March 4, after Joe Biden’s unexpected surge. Bloomberg has been…

Jun. 16, 2020

Biden’s age might work in his favor

President Trump frequently refers to his Democratic challenger as “Sleepy Joe” Biden, suggesting the former vice president is lethargic and confused. Informally, the Trump campaign claims the 77-year-old Biden is outright senile. Biden’s verbal…

Jun. 12, 2020

Trump dares the coronavirus

The coronavirus has a vote in the November elections. And it will be clear in coming weeks whether President Trump or Joe Biden will cash in. The two presidential contenders have taken starkly different approaches to the pandemic that could decide…