May 19 2025
US Credit Downgrade; Factory Labor Shortage; College Towns Decline; Plains Tornadoes; Trump-Putin Call Today
U.S. Loses Last Triple-A Credit Rating From Moody's Amid Soaring Deficit Concerns; Trump's Tax Bill Adds to Fiscal Jitters
Factory Labor Shortage Hits U.S. Manufacturers; Experts Urge Higher Pay, Automation to Boost Productivity Amid Tariff-Driven Demand
"New Rust Belt" Emerges as University Enrollment Declines Devastate American College Towns
Tornadoes Rip Through Great Plains, Causing Widespread Damage in Multiple States; Severe Weather Threat Continues
Trump and Putin to Hold High-Stakes Call on Ukraine War Amid Flurry of Diplomatic Efforts
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1. U.S. Loses Last Triple-A Credit Rating From Moody's Amid Soaring Deficit Concerns; Trump's Tax Bill Adds to Fiscal Jitters
On Friday, Moody’s stripped the U.S. of its last triple-A credit rating, citing large fiscal deficits and rising interest costs. Adding to investor nerves about America's debt trajectory, the House Budget Committee approved President Trump’s tax-and-spending bill late Sunday, a milestone for a proposal that is projected to add trillions of dollars to the deficit. The bill has several more obstacles to clear in the House and Senate. “One thing stands out though, and that is that at this stage there are no signs of any serious deficit restraint,” said Deutsche Bank strategist Jim Reid.
WSJ
2. Factory Labor Shortage Hits U.S. Manufacturers; Experts Urge Higher Pay, Automation to Boost Productivity Amid Tariff-Driven Demand
Already, Trump’s tariffs have prompted some companies to source parts in the U.S. rather than overseas, a shift that has boosted demand for some small and midsize manufacturers. America has nearly half a million unfilled manufacturing jobs, according to the U.S. Labor Department. Nearly half of manufacturing companies say their biggest challenge is recruiting and retaining workers, according to a survey this year by the National Association of Manufacturers. Manufacturers usually assign workers to shifts with rigid hours and pay 7.8% lower on average than the private sector as a whole, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. In 1980, manufacturing wages were 3.8% higher. A decline in union representation in the sector hasn’t helped.
Editors note: economic fundamentals are undefeated, to beat a labor shortage, pay more. Given these wage dynamics, the only way to make American products globally competitive is to deploy automation to boost workers productivity (as tools to enhance human workers; replacing workers outright with robots is far fetched in the near term)
WSJ
3. "New Rust Belt" Emerges as University Enrollment Declines Devastate American College Towns
MACOMB, Ill.—At Western Illinois University, an empty dorm that once held 800 students is now a police training ground, where active-shooter drills have left behind overturned furniture, rubber-tipped bullets and paintball casings. Macomb is at the heart of a new Rust Belt: Across the U.S., colleges are faltering and so are the once booming towns around them. Enrollment is down at many of the nation’s public colleges and universities, widening the gap between high-profile campuses and struggling schools. Starting next year, there will be fewer high-school graduates for the foreseeable future. The fallout extends to downtown Macomb. Sullivan Taylor Coffee House, located in the corner of a stately 130-year-old building not far from campus, sits mostly empty during the semester. Owner Brandon Thompson has cashed out retirement savings, hit the limits of his credit cards, even canceled his home internet to keep the doors open. For generations, colleges around the U.S. fueled local economies, creating jobs and bringing in students to shop and spend. Growing student enrollment fattened school budgets and freed universities from having to worry about inefficiencies or cutting costs. The student boom has since ended, and college towns are suffering. Among metropolitan areas especially reliant on higher education, three-quarters of them suffered weaker economic growth between 2011 and 2023 than the U.S. as a whole, according to an analysis by Mark Muro and Shriya Methkupally at Brookings Metro, a nonprofit think tank in Washington, D.C.
WSJ
4. Tornadoes Rip Through Great Plains, Causing Widespread Damage in Multiple States; Severe Weather Threat Continues
Tornadoes tore through parts of the Great Plains on Sunday, downing power lines and trees and damaging buildings across several towns, cities and counties. They were part of a severe storm system that was expected to bring strong winds and hail the size of golf balls to parts of the Midwest through Monday. More than 20 tornadoes were reported across Colorado, Kansas, Texas, Oklahoma and Nebraska on Sunday, according to the National Weather Service. The tornado warnings expired early Monday. A tornado ripped through Grinnell, Kan., on Sunday night, tearing the roof off a church and destroying several other structures, according to photos shared by NWKS Radio. The city, which has a population of less than 300 people, is about 125 miles north of Dodge City. A portion of Interstate 70 nearby was shut because of downed power lines, according to Lisa Mussman of the Kansas Department of Transportation. The storm has also downed power lines and trees in Kiowa County, Kan., the sheriff’s office said.
NYT
5. Trump and Putin to Hold High-Stakes Call on Ukraine War Amid Flurry of Diplomatic Efforts
President Trump and President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia are expected to speak Monday about the war in Ukraine, in a highly anticipated telephone call that comes amid a flurry of diplomatic activity aimed at resolving the three-year old conflict. The call, which Mr. Trump said would take place at 10 a.m. Eastern, would be the second publicly acknowledged phone conversation between the two men since the American president’s second term began.
NYT
May 19, 1967: Soviets ratify treaty banning nuclear weapons from outer space
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Sources
- https://www.wsj.com/livecoverage/stock-market-today-tariffs-trade-war-05-19-2025?mod=hp_lead_pos4
- https://www.wsj.com/economy/jobs/will-anyone-take-the-factory-jobs-trump-wants-to-bring-back-to-america-f6cd377b?mod=hp_lead_pos9
- https://www.wsj.com/us-news/education/college-towns-economy-macomb-illinois-aae84dcc?mod=hp_lead_pos7
- https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/18/weather/sunday-tornado-forecast-kansas-oklahoma-storms.html
- https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/19/world/europe/trump-putin-ukraine.html