The Business Times
business-time-50
THE BOTTOM LINE

Scott Bessent has an unenviable job

A tumultuous first month for the new Treasury Secretary

Summarise
google-preferred-sourceAdd BT as a preferred source
    • US Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent is known for his "3-3-3" plan, which has been dismissed across the board as wildly unrealistic.
    • US Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent is known for his "3-3-3" plan, which has been dismissed across the board as wildly unrealistic. PHOTO: REUTERS

    Mark Sobel

    Published Thu, Feb 27, 2025 · 05:00 AM

    IT’S NOT easy being a Cabinet secretary, let alone new to the US government. One must cement relationships with the president and the new White House team, in addition to taking command of a department and its functions, responsibilities and personnel. That is particularly true for Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, sitting only a few hundred yards from the Oval Office.

    Roughly a month in, he has had a tumultuous start.

    He has a reputation as a fiscal hawk, and America certainly needs to get its budgetary house in order. He is known for his “3-3-3” plan – 3 per cent growth, 3 per cent budget deficit, three-million-barrel increase in daily domestic oil production.

    Scott BessentUS economic policymakingTrump administration

    TRENDING NOW

    Out of the 18,000 fresh graduates, 9,100 have found employment and 5,400 are outside the labour force, mainly for voluntary reasons.

    1 in 5 fresh graduates from autonomous universities still seeking employment: MOM

    Grant Wee built Hideaway as a massage-and-bathhouse concept centred on solitude and recovery.

    UOB CEO’s youngest child Grant Wee turns burnout into a wellness business

    Cold Storage’s first On The Go store opened at the Esso petrol station in East Coast Road on Aug 3.

    Cold Storage moves into convenience retail with On The Go, to replace FairPrice at 58 Esso stations

    As Asia races to build its AI infrastructure, securing sufficient copper is becoming almost as key as securing the electricity to power it, say analysts.

    Why copper is becoming Asia’s next AI bottleneck

    Latest T-bills Treasury Bills Results & Interest NewsLatest SSB Singapore Savings Bonds NewsLatest COE Certificate of Entitlement News
    Latest Johor-Singapore SEZ NewsLatest BTO Build To Order & Sales of Balance NewsLatest STI Straits Times Index NewsLatest SGX Dividends, Share Price NewsLatest Bonds Market NewsLatest Singapore Stocks To Buy NewsLatest Singapore Economy News
    View More