Trump Confirms Plan to Dismantle USAID: On Tuesday,
U.S. President Donald Trump reaffirmed his intention to dismantle the United States Agency for International Development (USAID),
a move reflecting his administration’s commitment to reducing government spending in alignment with the “America First” policy.
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Trump
New Zealand’s Labor Market
France’s Industrial Production
Trump Confirms Plan to “Dismantle” USAID
On Tuesday, U.S. President Donald Trump reaffirmed his intention to dismantle
the United States Agency for International Development (USAID),
a move reflecting his administration’s commitment to reducing government spending in alignment with the “America First” policy.
The agency is experiencing significant disruptions as the administration plans to merge it
into the State Department as part of a broader restructuring effort to downsize
its workforce and redirect its budget to Trump’s foreign policy priorities.
Trump also praised Elon Musk, who is leading these efforts,
He stated that he was doing a “great job” and justified the decision
by claiming there was “a lot of fraud” within the agency.
New Zealand’s Labor Market Shows Mixed Performance in Q4 2024
On Tuesday evening, Statistics New Zealand released labor market data for the fourth quarter of 2024,
which showed mixed results compared to market expectations.
According to the report, employment in New Zealand contracted by 0.1% in Q4,
a better-than-expected outcome than forecasts of a 0.2% decline.
This follows a 0.6% employment contraction in Q3, revised from an initial estimate of 0.5%.
Meanwhile, the unemployment rate rose to 5.1%, the highest since Q3 2020.
While this reading matched market expectations, it was worse than the 4.8% recorded in Q3.
France’s Industrial Production Contracts More Than Expected in December
Industrial production in France declined by 0.4% in December,
according to a report published by the National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies (INSEE) on Wednesday morning.
This was worse than market expectations, which had projected only a 0.1% decline.
Additionally, the data showed a weaker performance than November,
which saw a 0.1% increase, revised down from the initial 0.2% estimate.
These figures highlight the French industrial sector’s ongoing challenges amid mounting economic pressures.
Trump Confirms Plan to Dismantle USAID