Tag Archives: economy

Fed Chairman Jerome Powell returned to “60 Minutes” on Sunday to tell Americans that the economy is going to start growing strongly, but they shouldn’t expect the central banks to start raising interest rates as a result. Asked by CBS News’ Scott Pelley when the Fed will start “tapping the …

Ever since the pandemic struck last year, St. Louis Fed President James Bullard has been one of the most optimistic members of the U.S. central bank, predicting early and often that the economy could rebound strongly — well ahead of his colleagues. But that doesn’t mean Bullard projects an early …

The U.S. added a robust 379,000 jobs in February and the economy is primed to take off, but improved growth prospects might come with a cost in the short run. In a word, inflation. Make no mistake, inflation is still very low right now and it has been for the …

The numbers: Americans are still unsure how rapidly the U.S. economy will recover from the pandemic and restore millions of jobs that have been lost even as the rate of vaccinations speeds up, a new survey showed. The final reading of consumer sentiment in February inched up to 76.8 points …

Most Americans believe themselves to be members of the middle class. But a new report has shed light on who really makes up this segment of society — and how their numbers are shrinking. A paper released this week from the RAND Corporation, a public policy research firm, explores the …

The numbers: The huge service side of the U.S. economy grew faster in January and companies added more workers, signaling better times ahead as the record surge in coronavirus cases receded. A survey of top business leaders at non-manufacturing companies such as restaurants, hospitals and banks rose to 58.7% from …

The numbers: Consumer confidence bounced back a bit in January as Americans looked past the high number of coronavirus cases and deaths toward greater availability of vaccines and an improving economy. The index of consumer confidence rose to 89.3 this month from a revised 87.1 in December, the Conference Board said …

The numbers: A pair of surveys of U.S. businesses added to mounting evidence on Wednesday that the economy is slowing in the wake of a record coronavirus outbreak. IHS Markit said its “flash” survey of executives at service-oriented companies such as restaurants, financial firms and health-care providers fell to 55.3 …

Now is the time to consider value stocks for your portfolio as the U.S. economy gathers strength and as promising coronavirus vaccines and treatments are deployed. John Buckingham, editor of The Prudent Speculator investing newsletter, has done for this column a special screen of stocks with value characteristics. That led …