In other news, the deputy secretary for the Veterans Affairs Department, James Byrne, was fired from the Trump regime today for unknown reasons. He was only on the job for five months.
Meanwhile, the Environmental Protection Agency's chief of staff, Ryan Jackson, is leaving the agency to join the coal mining industry. As one does.
Finally, Chinese officials are reportedly considering lowering their economic growth target for the year because of the coronavirus.
The annual growth target is typically unveiled in March at the country’s legislative session after being endorsed by top leaders at the annual closed-door Central Economic Work Conference in December. Economists had expected China would aim for output growth of “around 6%” this year after seeking a range of 6% to 6.5% in 2019.
The change in focus should not come as a surprise to investors and economists who were already bracing for weaker growth than was previously expected amid threats to demand and the country’s supply chain. Bloomberg Economics reckons growth could dip to 4.5% in the current quarter.
I reiterate that lower economic growth in China means lower demand for American exports. You know, the exports that are suppose to double this year under "phase one" of Trump's "biggest and greatest deal ever."
It was never very likely to begin with, but it does appear that the stars may be aligning against exports doubling. We'll see.