Category Archives: Economy

What Happens to Economic Growth This Year?

Posted on February 26, 2022 by Popular Economics Weekly

Financial FAQs BEA.gov We now have a looming Cold War with Russia due to its invasion of the Ukraine, as well as inflation to worry about this year. What will it do to economic growth and jobs? Inflation won’t recede … Continue reading →

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Surprise Retail Sales Growth!

Posted on February 16, 2022 by Popular Economics Weekly

Popular Economics Weekly FREDretailsales The New Year brought in another surprise. Sales at U.S. retailers such as Amazon and Best Buy jumped 3.8 percent in January. Americans bought more things: cars, furniture, consumer electronics in a sign that consumers are … Continue reading →

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What Makes Americans Happy?

Posted on February 11, 2022 by Popular Economics Weekly

The Mortgage Corner Why do economists and pundits like to focus so much on consumer confidence, which fluctuates wildly, as the U Michigan sentiment survey graph shows? It rose as high as 112 in February 2000 during the heady Clinton … Continue reading →

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Inflation is Not So Scary

Posted on February 10, 2022 by Popular Economics Weekly

Financial FAQs FREDcpi It can be no surprise that retail prices have risen 7.5 percent in a year. Yet COVID-19 has scared financial markets and some 3 million workers from returning to their pre-pandemic jobs. The question is what can … Continue reading →

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Surprise January Jobs Growth!

Posted on February 4, 2022 by Popular Economics Weekly

Popular Economics Weekly MarketWatch.com In another surprise that will confound the pessimists who see a looming recession, the U.S. added 467,000 jobs in January and hiring was much stronger at the end of 2021 than originally reported. The U.S. also … Continue reading →

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Too Many Job Openings

Posted on February 2, 2022 by Popular Economics Weekly

Financial FAQs Calculated Risk The Labor Department’s JOLTS report showed the labor market as tight as ever in January, which could be bad news for new job creation in Friday’s Labor Department unemployment report. Employers can’t hire enough employees in … Continue reading →

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Q4 Economic Growth Explodes

Posted on January 27, 2022 by Popular Economics Weekly

Popular Economics Weekly BEA.gov It looks like the Omicron variant has actually spurred higher growth. The fourth quarter GDP ‘first estimate’ of growth  exploded to 6.9 percent, surpassing most estimates of 5 to 6 percent. GDP got a big lift at … Continue reading →

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Consumers Confident in New Year

Posted on January 25, 2022 by Popular Economics Weekly

Conference Board Why are consumers confident of their prospects in January with Omicron still infecting so many, according to the Conference Board’s latest Consumer Confidence survey? The Omicron variant may be waning, for starters. As of January 19, 2022, the … Continue reading →

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Will Omicron Slow Economic Growth in 2022?

Posted on January 22, 2022 by Popular Economics Weekly

Popular Economics Weekly BEA.gov Surprise, surprise, the latest data show that the Omicron variant has done little damage to economic growth. The current predictions for fourth quarter growth are 5-6 percent, more than making up for the 2.3 percent Q3 … Continue reading →

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Retail Sales Stay Strong

Posted on January 19, 2022 by Popular Economics Weekly

Financial FAQs FREDretailsales Sales at U.S. retailers such as Target and Amazon sank 1.9 percent in December — the biggest drop in 10 months — as the Omicron variant spread like wildfire and shoppers confronted higher prices and shortages of … Continue reading →

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