Because economies are reopening or partially opening in the U.S., the likely bottom of the Pandemic Recession will be this quarter. The debate is now over the shape of the Recovery. Letters have been used to describe what authors/economists/investment houses believe. “V” shaped is clearly what the equity bulls believe. Some describe it as a “U.” A “W” would occur if we had a second virus wave. Still others believe we will have an “L” shaped …Read More
Tag Archives: gross domestic product
On Reopening: We’ve Just Seen The Iceberg’s Tip
New Data Should Accelerate Re-Opening When the pandemic started, the only data available was the number of new cases, existing cases, and deaths. The original models, perhaps based on prior pandemics like the Spanish Flu of 1918, forecast significant deaths, up to as many as 2 million in the U.S., and, of course, mass infections. Based on that, governments all over the world shut-down their economies. New mortality data is now available …Read More
Get used to heightened market volatility
The sentiment surveys indicate that the economy continues to perform well. The underlying data say otherwise. People take their cue from the stock market when it comes to assessing economic health. And, as long as the stock market is near dizzying heights, the sentiment surveys will say the economy is doing well. The hard data January’s data showed negative retail sales vs. December, negative real weekly income, negative aggregate hours …Read More
2018 Preview and Assessment
Market valuations are high. Current consumption is being financed by debt. The housing data is mildly positive, but has been impacted by “rebuild” issues in the wake of natural disasters. Corporate balance sheets are strong and laden with cash. The world’s major economies are doing well and central banks are beginning to tighten policy led by the U.S.’s Fed. Q4 real GDP growth looks to come in above 3% (third …Read More
On a Recession Watch
For the first time since the industrial revolution, the U.S. faces two significant growth issues: 1) a declining labor force; and 2) a job skills mismatch. The declining labor force is demographic in nature and is occurring in every industrial economy; likely a function of the long-term success of capitalism. The skills mismatch is a function of technological change that is so rapid that the skills of the existing labor …Read More
“Normal,” It’s Not What You Think!
Most readers remember the pre-recession days of 4% GDP growth, interest rates at levels where savers had return choices worth pursuing (e.g., the 10 year T-Note at 4%), and workers could count on annual real wage growth. Today, many refer to this as “normal,” and there is a desire, if not a movement, to return the economy back to such a state. You can see this in the political arena. …Read More
