Monthly Archives: May 2023

Debt Ceiling Deal Preserves New Deal

Posted on May 31, 2023 by Popular Economics Weekly

Financial FAQs FREDusdebt President Biden said it best concerning the agreement to raise the national debt ceiling for two years, when asked at the G-7 summit if it could cause a recession. “I know it won’t…Matter of fact, the fact … Continue reading →

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U.S. Economic Life Signs Improve

Posted on May 26, 2023 by Popular Economics Weekly

Popular Economics Weekly FREDpceindex After a sputtering start, it looks like the U.S. economy is picking up steam. First Quarter GDP growth was revised upward from 1.1 to 1.3 percent in the BEA’s second estimate yesterday. And the Personal Consumption … Continue reading →

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This Recovery Another ‘Roaring Twenties’?

Posted on May 23, 2023 by Popular Economics Weekly

Financial FAQs AtlantaFed.org I wonder if our recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic could repeat the ‘Roaring Twenties’ jazz era of F Scott Fitzgerald. Why not? There are some surprising similarities. The Roaring Twenties were named for the era that followed … Continue reading →

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Existing-Home Sales Still in Decline

Posted on May 18, 2023 by Popular Economics Weekly

The Mortgage Corner I said last week that higher new home sales and rising homebuilders’ optimism foretell a strong summer sales season if builders and existing-home inventories don’t run out of housing stock. The problem is not enough existing homes … Continue reading →

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Retail Sales Still Healthy

Posted on May 17, 2023 by Popular Economics Weekly

Financial FAQs Calculated Risk/Census Bureau Why do consumers keep spending with so much news warning of an impending recession? Well, because we’re not even close to a recession yet. NYTimes columnist and Nobel laureate Paul Krugman has been puzzling over … Continue reading →

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Wholesale Inflation is Tamed

Posted on May 12, 2023 by Popular Economics Weekly

Financial FAQs BLS.gov April’s Producer Price Index for final demand confirmed the wholesale cost of goods and services has already returned to a 2 percent range, which should enable Fed officials to say the battle against COVID-induced inflation is almost … Continue reading →

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Inflation is Now Tamed?

Posted on May 10, 2023 by Popular Economics Weekly

Popular Economics Weekly FREDcpi Has Chairman Jerome Powell’s Federal Reserve been suffering from a giant inferiority complex, from the fear that its actions are not being taken seriously enough and so it tends to overreact to crises? That seems to … Continue reading →

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Where’s the Recession?

Posted on May 5, 2023 by Popular Economics Weekly

Popular Economics Weekly MarketWatch Surprise, surprise. Americans remain fully employed, in spite of the Fed’s efforts to slow economic growth. The ‘official’ unemployment rate dropped to 3.4 percent in April. The last time it was this low was in 1968. … Continue reading →

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More Housing Sorely Needed

Posted on May 4, 2023 by Popular Economics Weekly

The Mortgage Corner I said last week that higher new home sales and rising homebuilders’ optimism foretells a strong summer sales season if builders and existing-home inventories don’t run out of housing stock. The construction industry is responding. Spending in … Continue reading →

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Fed Should Call a Truce

Posted on May 3, 2023 by Popular Economics Weekly

Financial FAQs CalculatedRisk First Republic Bank’s takeover by the FDIC highlighted just how vulnerable our banking system is to higher interest rates. It had more than 80 percent uninsured deposits, just like the other failed banks vulnerable to higher interest … Continue reading →

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