If you were rooting for trade to boost economic growth in Q4, just about everything moved in the wrong direction in December. The U.S. economy increased its imports by more than $12 billion, with $10.2 billion off that increase coming from goods and the balance coming from increased service imports. On the other side of the ledger, exports fell by $5.0 billion despite the one silver lining, a scant $0.5 billion increase in service exports being swamped by a $5.5 billion decrease in U.S. goods exports. The total trade balance widened sharply as a result reaching $70.3 billion, falling back to its widest level in ... (full story)