Trump team prepares dramatic cuts

[Source: The Hill] Donald Trump is ready to take an ax to government spending. Staffers for the Trump transition team have been meeting with career staff at the White House ahead of Friday’s presidential inauguration to outline their plans for shrinking the federal bureaucracy, The Hill has learned. The changes they propose are dramatic. The Read More…

Small business owners’ optimism skyrockets following Trump victory

[Source: Bloomberg Markets] Small businesses seem to like a unified Republican government. President-elect Donald Trump’s victory in the U.S. elections is a giant leap for small businesses, according to a survey of their owners. The November reading of the National Federation of Independent Businesses’ small business optimism index jumped to 98.4 from 94.9 — its Read More…

Brown probably won’t leave budget deficit, but future cloudy

[Source: The Sacramento Bee] California’s gubernatorial transitions have included a less-than-stellar tradition in recent decades – outgoing governors leaving budget deficits to successors. The current governor, Jerry Brown, started the syndrome in 1983 when he departed after his first gubernatorial stint and left a $1.5 billion budget hole – big money in those days – Read More…