Archive: Economic and Financial Digest
September 30, 2021 | Economic and Financial Digest
A Delta Detour
The U.S. economy is past its fastest growth phase, but like a marathoner it still has plenty in reserve to continue the run. Until the Delta variant reared its ugly head it was thought that conditions would have returned to normal by now, setting the stage for a robust second-half sprint that carried momentum into […]
August 31, 2021 | Economic and Financial Digest
Pandemic’s Lasting Effects: A More Productive Economy
The U.S. economy passed a key milestone in the second quarter as it more than recouped output lost during the COVID-induced recession. On the heels of a 6.5 percent increase, real GDP rose to $19.4 trillion in the April-June period, topping the $19.2 trillion that prevailed in the final quarter before the onset of the […]
July 29, 2021 | Economic and Financial Digest
A Calmer But Durable Recovery Ahead
The economy is coming off the second strongest growth rate since 1978 in the just completed quarter, and the powerful post-pandemic reopening boost is still unfolding. But the rapid reopening has brought with it a host of problems, highlighting the fact that the road to normalcy is unlikely to be smooth. Thanks to labor shortages […]
June 29, 2021 | Economic and Financial Digest
Don’t Fret. The Workers Will Come Back
Americans are as flexible as they are resilient, so it comes as no surprise that they are efficiently adapting to a post-pandemic world. For sure, the health crisis has not been entirely vanquished. Although more than 50 percent of the adult population has been fully inoculated, vaccine hesitancy, emerging variants and greater social interactions could […]
May 27, 2021 | Economic and Financial Digest
Focus On The Trend, Not The Noise
The economic environment is ripe for naïve and misguided narratives. Taken at face value, the latest reports on jobs, consumer prices and retail sales suggest that the U.S. is in the grips of a jobless recovery and a stalling economy that is weighed down by worrisome inflationary pressures. This assessment on the economy is not […]