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December slowdown: tariffs and inflation are squeezing the US economy
Tariffs and stubborn inflation are converging at the worst possible moment for the United States economy, just as the crucial holiday period should be delivering a year-end lift. Instead of a clean finish to the year, the data and the anecdotes now point in the same direction: a December slowdown that is pinching households, employers, and policymakers at once. The pressure is visible from factory floors to shopping malls, and it is reshaping how I read the outlook for early 2026. What is emerging is not a classic recession story but a more complicated squeeze, where higher prices and trade barriers are dulling ... (full story)
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gilp456
Dec 20, 2025 9:35am
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