Bessent: Economy very strong, likely accelerating

 United States Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Tuesday that the US economy is "very strong and likely accelerating." He said real incomes have been rising every month since US President Donald Trump took power and predicted a "big year" for real incomes in 2026. He also said that Americans can expect "substantial" tax refunds in the first quarter.

Bessent defended the administration's moves to take stakes in private companies and direct defense production, stating that defense contractors have "let down the American people" and are five to seven years behind on their fulfillment contracts. "I don't think it's unreasonable to tell them that, until further notice, you need to build more factories and buy back less stocks," he said. "Once they get to some normalized level of backlog, whether it's two years, three years, then we can talk about removing those restrictions."

https://breakingthenews.net/Article/Bessent:-Economy-very-strong-likely-accelerating/65510345