Category Archives: Consumers

Here’s to a Return of Normal!

Posted on August 15, 2023 by Popular Economics Weekly

Popular Economics Weekly FREDretailsales Is it possible after years of pandemic and post-pandemic vicissitudes, the US economy is returning to a normal growth pattern, and Americans can breathe easier about the future? By that I mean consumers are shopping as … Continue reading →

Posted in Consumers, COVID-19, Economy, Weekly Financial News | Leave a comment

What Caused the Pandemic Inflation?

Posted on August 11, 2023 by Popular Economics Weekly

Financial FAQs FREDprofits/gdi The St. Louis Fed (FRED) graph of corporate profits as a percentage of Gross Domestic Income (GDI), a good proxy for gross domestic output (GDP), explains much of what boosted inflation during the COVID pandemic. The product … Continue reading →

Posted in Consumers, COVID-19, Economy, Macro Economics, Weekly Financial News | Leave a comment

Higher Economic Growth Ahead?

Posted on August 9, 2023 by Popular Economics Weekly

Financial FAQs AtlantaGDPNow The US economy continues to expand in all sectors—with consumers as well as in manufacturing. But it was consumers that provided most of the 2.4 percent increase in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the ‘advance’ (first of … Continue reading →

Posted in Consumers, COVID-19, Economy, Keynesian economics, Weekly Financial News | Leave a comment

Jobs Still Plentiful!

Posted on August 7, 2023 by Popular Economics Weekly

Popular Economics Weekly MarketWatch.com The Fed Governors should be happy with Friday’s unemployment report—nothing has really changed over the past several months, including record low unemployment, inflation continuing to decline, and average hourly wages holding at 4.4 percent. “Both the … Continue reading →

Posted in Consumers, COVID-19, Economy, Macro Economics, Weekly Financial News | Leave a comment

Q3 Economic Growth to Double?

Posted on August 3, 2023 by Popular Economics Weekly

Popular Economics Weekly AtlantaFedGDPNow We could have even higher third quarter economic growth, believe it or not, from the second quarter 2.4 percent (advance) growth estimate by the US Bureau of Economic Analysis. The Atlanta Federal Reserve’s GDPNow model estimates … Continue reading →

Posted in Consumers, COVID-19, Economy, Politics, Weekly Financial News | Leave a comment

A Lot of Job Openings!

Posted on August 2, 2023 by Popular Economics Weekly

Financial FAQs Calculated Risk Blog It’s hard to reconcile the recent downgrade of US Treasury debt by Fitch Ratings, one of the three major debt rating agencies, to AA+ from AAA, with the US economy still at full employment. “The … Continue reading →

Posted in Consumers, COVID-19, Economy, Macro Economics, Politics, Weekly Financial News | Leave a comment

“The Housing Recession Is Over!”

Posted on July 29, 2023 by Popular Economics Weekly

The Mortgage Corner One should maybe forgive National Association of Realtor’s chief economist Lawrence Yun’s enthusiasm when he exclaimed “the housing recession is over,” because the NAR’s Pending Home Sales rose for the first time in four months. And this … Continue reading →

Posted in Consumers, COVID-19, Economy, housing market, Weekly Financial News | Leave a comment

It’s Consumer Spending, Stupid! – Part II

Posted on July 27, 2023 by Popular Economics Weekly

Financial FAQs BEA.gov The US economy continues to expand in all sectors—with consumers as well as in manufacturing. But it was consumers that provided most of the 2.4 percent increase in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the ‘advance’ (first of … Continue reading →

Posted in Consumers, COVID-19, Economy, Weekly Financial News | Leave a comment

What Is Bidenomics?

Posted on July 26, 2023 by Popular Economics Weekly

The Mortgage Corner The best way to describe ‘Bidenomics’ now being touted by a growing consensus of economists is best explained in the recent resurgence of construction spending, as portrayed in the FRED graph. FREDconstructionspend Nobel Laureate Paul Krugman, among … Continue reading →

Posted in Consumers, COVID-19, Economy, Weekly Financial News | Leave a comment

There’s a Housing Shortage

Posted on July 21, 2023 by Popular Economics Weekly

The Mortgage Corner We know the spring buying season barely got off the ground because of elevated mortgage rates, I said last week. Another reason was elevated prices, due to the housing shortage. And builders aren’t keeping up with homebuyers’ … Continue reading →

Posted in Consumers, COVID-19, Economy, Housing, housing market, Weekly Financial News | Leave a comment