- What happened last week?
The most important development last week in the American economy was the U.S. House of Representatives approving Thursday their version of the tax reform bill, which is the first major step to overhaul the country's three-decades-old tax system.
The bill, which passed the floor after 227-205 voting, intends to lower the corporate tax rate in the country permanently and reduce the number of tax brackets. The corporate tax rate is set to lower to 20 percent, from the existing 35 percent, in order to boost the earnings of American companies. The number of tax brackets aims for a reduction from the current seven to four -- to 12 percent, 25 percent, 35 percent, and 39.6 percent.
The bill, however, is projected to add $1.4 trillion to the federal debt over the next 10 years, since lowering the corporate tax rate will hurt the federal government's income and increase its deficit.
The House's approval is only the first step to overhaul the U.S.' tax system, which was last updated in 1986 when then-President Ronald Reagan signed the Tax Reform Act into law. The U.S. Senate is also preparing its own version of a tax reform bill that has some major differences from the House version, such as postponing the lowering of the corporate tax rate until 2019. The Senate is expected to vote on their version in the last week of November.
If the Senate approves its own bill, then the two chambers need to sort out their differences and come up with final legislation. Both chambers of the Congress should then approve the legislation before presenting it to the president for signing into law. While Trump wants the tax reform to be finalized before the end of this year, experts state that the differences between the House and the Senate regarding their own versions make this unlikely.
- Trump supports tax efforts
President Donald Trump continues to support Congress' efforts on the tax reform bill, which was one of his key promises during elections.
'Republican senators are working very hard to get tax cuts and tax reform approved. Hopefully, it will not be long and they do not want to disappoint the American public!,' he said on Twitter on Sunday.
On Friday, Trump wrote on Twitter, 'If Democrats were not such obstructionists and understood the power of lower taxes, we would be able to get many of their ideas into Bill! ... Great numbers on Stocks and the Economy. If we get Tax Cuts and Reform, we'll really see some great results!'
-U.S. oil production still on increase
Crude oil production in the U.S. continues to increase, the country's Energy Information Administration (EIA) data showed on Wednesday.
Oil output rose by 25,000 barrels per day () to 9.64 million for the week ending Nov. 10, according to the EIA data.
The EIA expects crude oil production in the U.S. to average 9.2 million barrels per day () in 2017, and 9.9 in 2018, according to its Short-Term Energy Outlook for November.
With rising U.S. crude production, oil prices are expected to remain under pressure.
OPEC and Russia are in talks to extend their production cut beyond March 2018, however, this may not be enough to push prices higher since U.S. crude output is also on the rise, according to experts. OPEC's semi-annual meeting will be held on Nov. 30 in Vienna.
The number of oil rigs in the U.S., however, remained unchanged last week, oilfield services company Baker Hughes data showed Friday.
The oil rig count in the U.S., which provides an indication of the oil sector's well-being in the country and signals possible short-term production cuts and increases, remained flat at 739 for the week ending Nov. 10, according to the data.
With that result, the number of total rigs in the U.S.' oil industry increased twice only in the past seven weeks.
- Moody's releases Turkey report
Public finances are a source of strength for Turkey's sovereign creditworthiness, the global credit agency Moody's said Friday.
Turkey's credit profile balances resilient growth and strong public finances against political risk and external vulnerability, the agency said in its annual credit analysis report for Turkey. Turkey's credit profile reflects its large and flexible middle-income economy, resilient growth and favorable demographics, the report said.
'Although Turkey's public finances have deteriorated marginally over the past year due to fiscal stimulus and the weaker lira, the country's resilient economic growth and manageable government debt metrics continue to provide key credit anchors,' Kristin Lindow, a Moody's senior vice president and co-author of the report, said in a statement.
Moody's said it expects government debt-to-GDP ratio in Turkey to stay below 30 percent next year. However, the report said fiscal outcomes would likely be challenged in an environment of rising global interest rates. Moody's warned that Turkey's credit rating could be downgraded if there is sustained lower growth, worsening in fiscal strength, and erosion in institutional strength.
Turkey's credit rating could be upgraded if there are structural reductions in vulnerabilities, such as balance-of-payments pressures, or improvements in Turkey's institutional environment or competitiveness.
Moody's kept Turkey's credit rating unchanged at 'Ba1' on March 18, but revised down its outlook to 'negative' from 'stable.' The agency said Friday's report does not constitute a rating action for Turkey.
- What to expect this week?
The Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen will make a speech on Tuesday, and on the same day, existing home sales for October will be announced.
On Wednesday, minutes from the Federal Open Market Committee's last meeting will be released.
The EIA will announce Wednesday the weekly change in the U.S.' crude oil inventories and production, while Baker Hughes will release the change in its oil rig count.
University of Michigan (UMICH) consumer sentiment is out on Wednesday, instead of its usual Friday, due to Thanksgiving Day. Also on Wednesday, durable goods orders for October will be released, along with weekly initial jobless claims.
The U.S. stock market, including federal offices, will be closed on Thursday due to Thanksgiving Day. The stock market will close on Friday at 1:30 p.m. EST (1830 GMT).
On Friday, Manufacturing and Services PMI for November will be released.