by WorldTribune Staff, April 12, 2017

In February, Fitch, one of the three major economic ratings services, had dire warnings that a Trump presidency would be disastrous for the U.S. economy – and the world’s.

Never mind.

Two months after predicting catastrophe, Fitch Ratings on April 11 issued a glowing report on the state of the U.S. economy under President Donald Trump.

Fitch reaffirmed the U.S.’s sterling AAA credit rating and increased its outlook for gross domestic product (GDP) growth.

Fitch said it now expects the U.S. GDP to grow at a 2.3 percent rate in 2017 and 2.6 percent in 2018, significantly better than the paltry 1.6 percent average GDP rate under former President Barack Obama.

Fitch attributed its outlook in part to the pro-growth Trump agenda.

“The new administration’s focus on deregulation and tax cuts has spurred higher business confidence and would be positive for growth if carried through,” Fitch analyst Charles Seville and others said in a report for clients.

Back in February, Fitch had declared the Trump administration presented “a risk to international economic conditions and global sovereign credit fundamentals.”

The new president had hurt “policy predictability” while “established international communication channels and relationship norms” had been “set aside” creating the threat of “sudden unanticipated changes in U.S. policies with potential global implications.”

Fitch was not alone in its warnings about the Trump agenda. During the campaign, Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics, warned that the new president’s plans as outlined would lead to a substantial recession.

  Fitch Ratings, On second thought: Fitch Ratings now says Trump isn’t a threat to world economy, Take it back: Fitch Ratings now says Trump isn’t a threat to world economy, Trump economic policy, WorldTribune.com