TV News LIES

A supporter of President Trump is considering moving his company's production headquarters to Mexico in an effort to avoid Trump's tariffs on Chinese imports, according to The New York Times.

Pat LeBlanc, the chairman of EBW Electronics, voted for Trump in 2016 but told the Times that the tariffs are "killing us."

“I just feel so betrayed. If we fail because the company is being harmed by the government, that just makes me sick," he added, saying that he expects that his profits in 2019 will be cut in half because of the tariffs.

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Activity in the U.S. manufacturing sector expanded at a much slower pace than expected last month, according to the Institute for Supply Management.

The ISM manufacturing index fell to 54.1 in December, its lowest level since November 2016. Economists polled by Refinitiv expected the index to slip to 57.9 in December, down from 59.3 in November.

After weathering the worst Christmas Eve market drop in history, the Dow Jones Industrial Average came roaring back to life on Wednesday, jumping more than 1,000 points to hit the largest single-day gain since 2009.

The New York Times reports that the markets have been remarkably volatile in recent days, in part because of President Trump’s attacks on Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell. The Washington Post notes that the rapid market recovery began soon after White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett told reporters that Powell is “100 percent safe.”

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The stock market was only open for half a day Monday, and that was more than enough time for the Dow Jones Industrial Average to drop 2.9 percent to 21,792.20, breaking 1918's record for the worst Christmas Eve performance.

Other U.S. indexes fell too. The Nasdaq lost 2.2 percent to 6,192.92. The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 2.7 percent to 2,351.10.

U.S. stocks are on track for their worst year since 2008, which was during the Great Recession, and their worst December since 1931, which was during the Great Depression.

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Incoming acting White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney said Sunday that President Trump “now realizes” he can’t fire Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, an acknowledgment that came after reports that Trump has discussed dismissing the Fed chief in recent days amid the stock market’s meltdown.

“I think (Trump) put out a tweet last night specifically saying he now realizes he does not have the authority to fire” Powell, Mulvaney said on ABCs This Week. Mulvaney corrected himself after program host Jonathan Karl pointed out it was Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin who tweeted about Trump’s reversal.

President Donald Trump has discussed firing Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell as his frustration with the central bank chief intensified following this week’s interest-rate hike and months of stock-market losses, according to four people familiar with the matter.

Advisers close to Trump aren’t convinced he would move against Powell and are hoping that the president’s latest bout of anger will dissipate over the holidays, the people said on condition of anonymity. Some of Trump’s advisers have warned him that firing Powell would be a disastrous move.

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