2025-07-07
8 分钟The Economist. Hi, John Prideaux here.
I host Checks and Balance, our podcast on US politics.
Welcome to Editor's Picks.
Here's an article from the latest edition of The Economist, handpicked by our team and read aloud.
I hope you enjoy it.
Was it just a false alarm?
The panic about the world economy that followed President Donald Trump's Liberation Day tariffs in April has given way to growing optimism.
Tariffs' inflationary effect has so far been muted.
In private, bosses say they now expect trade fights to produce trade deals,
not to be an end in themselves.
Surveys show that business and consumer confidence, though low, is improving.
The S&P 500 index of stocks has hit a record high.
And, as we report, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, or BBB, looks more like traditional tax-cutting,
spending-slashing republicanism worthy of Paul Ryan or Mitt Romney than it does a MAGA fantasy.
Suddenly, business leaders are again willing to see Mr Trump as the populist from his first term,
a man to be taken seriously but not literally.
Unfortunately, the BBB is likely to cast a shadow over this sunny picture.
It illustrates the long-term damage Mr Trump is doing to the foundations of America's economy.
The bill's main effect is to extend the tax cuts from Mr Trump's first term,
which were due to expire.