Can the US consumer survive a trade war?

News Snapshot:

Reading the latest headlines, one might expect the U.S. economy to be barrelling into a recession or even depression. The chaotic uncertainty of President Donald Trump’s trade approach — what his supporters might call “the art of the deal” — has given businesses whiplash and set many markets to panicking. But should consumers be afraid? No, probably not. If they were able to keep pace with the incredible inflation of the early pandemic, consumers should be able to weather any storm kicked up by tariffs. The Federal Reserve Bank of Boston recently forecast that both the imposed 10% tariff hike...