Economy

The Trump administration’s tax overhaul plan bears little resemblance to the reform efforts of the 1980s and wouldn’t do much to boost U.S. economic growth, former Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers said.

President Donald Trump said he asked Republican leaders in Congress to include a measure to raise the U.S. debt ceiling in a popular veterans bill to avoid a “mess” in which they have to rely on Democrats’ support.

The reductions might not do all that much to help the economy in 2018.

Business confidence in the U.S. declined in the second quarter and is now at its lowest level since the fourth quarter of 2016, according to a new report from the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants and the Institute of Management Accountants based on a survey of accountants.

The unemployment rate inched up one-tenth of a point to 4.4 percent, as employers added 222,000 jobs in June, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday, although accounting and bookkeeping services lost 300 jobs on a seasonally adjusted basis.

The United States has the smallest “shadow economy” of underground trade in goods and services, compared to 28 other countries, according to a new report from the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants.