U.S. economy showing signs of strain, even without data

American consumers' finances in the low- and medium-income ranges are fraying at the edges, says economist David Rosenberg. Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images

Donald Trump supporters, such as Robert Lighthizer, the United States trade representative during the president’s first term, trumpeted that economists got it all wrong on tariffs and the American economy is doing just fine.

But even with the U.S. government shutdown preventing the release of a lot of economic data, the numbers that are still trickling in suggest conditions are deteriorating, according to David Rosenberg , founder and president of Rosenberg Research and Associates Inc.

That’s not good news for the U.S., but it’s also not great for Canada, which remains dependent on the health of American consumers and busi