1 / 3FILE PHOTO: U.S. President Donald Trump shakes hands with Matthew S Levatich, CEO of Harley Davidson at the White HouseBy Tim McLaughlin
White House Deputy Press Secretary Judd Deere declined to comment about the individual companies, but noted more Americans are coming off the sidelines and finding work, and U.S. wages and consumer confidence are rising. Lockheed's U.S. headcount is up about 15%. Fiat's employment is up about 11%, with some gains coming from broader North American operations. The net gain of jobs at the two companies is about 22,800 since the end of 2016, according to company disclosures.
“Trump wins some, loses some when compared to Obama,” said Mark Zandi, chief economist at financial research firm Moody's Analytics, referring to various economic indicators like stock market gains , federal budget deficit , fixed mortgage rates and household net worth .Graphic: Obama vs Trump - https://fingfx.thomsonreuters.com/gfx/mkt/13/1582/1557/Pasted%20Image.
Lockheed shares have climbed, too, producing a total return of 76% since Trump’s 2017 speech, easily outpacing the S&P 500’s total return of 47% during that time. Japan’s SoftBank Corp is also investing billions of dollars in U.S. startups, and has created thousands of jobs, with help from American venture capital firms and mutual funds.