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Washington DC
After securing his $1.9trn stimulus package last week, “President Biden is promising $2trn in fresh spending on America’s ailing infrastructure, with plans that will put his administration on a collision course with fiscally conservative Republicans”, says Alistair Dawber in The Times. The new money would be used to improve the country’s ageing roads, bridges and transport hubs, which Biden (pictured) promised to do as part of his “Build Back Better” campaign manifesto (see page 5). Despite concern over the national debt and inflation, “large infrastructure projects have a history of attracting bipartisan support, with members of Congress jockeying to secure spending in their own states and districts”. Meanwhile, the US has been counting the cost of the “severe winter weather”, says Capital Economics. Industrial production fell by 2.2% in February month-on-month, compared with January’s 1.1% expansion. February’s dip in retail sales
