Category Archives: Consumers

“It’s Consumer Spending, Stupid!”

Posted on July 18, 2023 by Popular Economics Weekly

Financial FAQs FREDretailsales Consumer spending has markedly slowed due to higher interest rates and depleted savings, but it is growing enough to maintain economic growth. This was confirmed by Tuesday morning’s retail sales report. “June retail trade sales were up 0.2 … Continue reading →

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What Happened to Inflation?

Posted on July 13, 2023 by Popular Economics Weekly

Popular Economics Weekly FREDppifinaldemand What happened to the inflation problem? The latest wholesale inflation data show the Fed has more than succeeded in its campaign to tame inflation. The wholesale Producer Price Index (PPI) for final demand in wholesale goods … Continue reading →

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Homebuying Season Continues

Posted on July 12, 2023 by Popular Economics Weekly

The Mortgage Corner We know the spring buying season barely got off the ground because of elevated mortgage rates. But there are enough homes for sale to continue purchases into the summer. An analysis by Redfin, the national real estate … Continue reading →

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Americans Still Fully Employed

Posted on July 7, 2023 by Popular Economics Weekly

Popular Economics Weekly MarketWatch.com Hiring has been slowing in some business sectors, but government, education & health, and construction kept the BLS unemployment rate at a historic low of 3.6 percent per the MarketWatch graph. American governments and the construction … Continue reading →

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Consumer Splurge Continues

Posted on July 3, 2023 by Popular Economics Weekly

Financial FAQs BEA.gov Consumers continue to spend, and what can the Fed do about it? This will be debated by market analysts ad nauseum until the next Federal Reserve FOMC meeting in July. And then Chairman Powell, et. al., will … Continue reading →

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Big Rise in Q1 Economic Growth

Posted on June 29, 2023 by Popular Economics Weekly

Popular Economics Weekly BEA.gov Economic growth in Q1 2023 was much better than pundits and economists predicted. GDP growth rose from its second estimate of 1.3 percent to 2.0 percent growth in the first quarter, largely because consumers spent more. … Continue reading →

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US Inflation In Faster Decline

Posted on June 28, 2023 by Popular Economics Weekly

The Mortgage Corner The Whitehouse Council of Economic Advisors (CEA) has come out with a study that compares US inflation to European inflation, and finds that ours has come down faster, much more apace, in fact. It found that so-called … Continue reading →

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US Inflation In Faster Decline

Posted on June 28, 2023 by Popular Economics Weekly

The Mortgage Corner The Whitehouse Council of Economic Advisors (CEA) has come out with a study that compares US inflation to European inflation, and finds that ours has come down faster, much faster, in fact. It found that so-called ‘harmonized’ … Continue reading →

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American Consumers Happier

Posted on June 27, 2023 by Popular Economics Weekly

Financial FAQs American consumers can live with higher inflation, according to the Conference Board’s latest confidence survey, but can the Fed? Its survey of U.S. consumer confidence jumped to a 17-month high of 109.7 in June, reflecting a slowdown in … Continue reading →

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Wrong Lessons Learned From 1970s

Posted on June 26, 2023 by Popular Economics Weekly

Financial FAQs Much talk has been made of what the Chairman Powell and US Fed officials say they learned from the inflation spiral of the 1970s. Keep employees’ wages from rising too fast, since they are that part of the … Continue reading →

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