Roche in talks with Washington on selling drugs directly to patients
Swiss drugmaker says cutting out industry intermediaries could shave 50% off drug prices in US
Economic News
Japan strikes a deal
The rate outlook is solidifying, but trade relief only goes so far
UK business activity slows as companies hit with rising costs
‘Sluggish’ growth reflects impact of Budget and geopolitical uncertainty
European stocks gain on hopes of US-EU tariff deal
Pharmaceuticals and autos advance following FT report that 15% levy deal is close
The risk to poor countries’ exports from the whims of the rich
Donald Trump’s tariff threat to Lesotho shows the danger of relying on preferential trade access
Sympathy wanes for resident doctors preparing to go on strike
Planned five-day walkout marks sharp escalation in BMA’s dispute with the government as row over pay drags on
How economics teaching became the Aeroflot of ideas
The discipline is failing students by ignoring the biggest social, political and ecological challenges facing the world today
Von der Leyen tells Xi EU-China ties are at ‘inflection point’
EU leaders press Beijing over trade surplus and support for Russia’s war in Ukraine at one-day summit
LA under Occupation: Macro Indicators for California
On June 7, President Trump federalized the California National Guard and deployed troops to LA. This followed instances of aggressively conducted ICE raids against various establishments. Economic activity declined in both LA and rural areas engaged in agriculture. Here are some aggregate indicators for California. Figure 1: California private nonfarm payroll employment (blue), manufacturing (green), and coincident index (tan), all in logs, 2025M05=0. Source: BLS via FRED, BLS, Philadelphia Fed, and author’s calculations. Private NFP declined in June. The coincident index (released today) exhibits a sharp break in June. Finally, manufacturing employment shrinkage accelerated in June. One might not think of manufacturing as a big employer of undocumented immigrants, but in fact the deportation/removal policy will impact this sector tremendously. Notice that given the federalized National Guard deployment is not yet over, and ICE raids continue, it’s likely that we will see more effects in the July statistics. Income statistics will show impacts later on. We have some estimates on the impact in the agricultural sector from Farmonaut (undated). Source: Farmonaut (undated). Without knowing the exact sources, it’s difficult to assess the plausibility of these estimates. But it can’t be a positive economic impact.