Plastic, paper, sugar, grain and other commodities are all getting more expensive as demand outpaces supply. Companies are also paying more for shipping as fuel costs rise and ports experience longer delays because of congestion.
Growth in the current April-June period is expected to be faster still: Some economists say it could reach a 10% annual pace or more, driven by a surge in people traveling, shopping, dining out and otherwise resuming their spending habits.
The U.S. economy is on the verge of potentially the greatest boom time of all time, according to Peter “Pete the Planner” Dunn. It will be fueled at least in part by the enhanced child tax credit, which is part of the American Rescue Plan stimulus package.
Weekly jobless claims are down sharply from a peak of 900,000 in early January, the Labor Department said Thursday.
While most Americans have weathered the pandemic financially, about 38 million say they are worse off now than before the outbreak began in the United States.
The deficit has been driven higher by trillions of dollars in support Congress has passed in successive economic rescue packages since the pandemic struck in early March 2020.
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said that he doesn’t expect to raise the Fed’s benchmark interest rate, currently pegged at nearly zero, this year.
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said many Americans who are out of work will struggle to find new jobs because some industries will likely be smaller than they were before the pandemic. In other cases, employers are seeking to use technology instead of workers.
If you include supplemental federal programs that were established last year to help the unemployed endure the health crisis, a total of 18.2 million were receiving some form of jobless aid the week of March 20.
The rollout of COVID-19 vaccines and vast sums of government aid will accelerate global economic growth to a record high this year in a powerful rebound from the pandemic recession, the International Monetary Fund says in its latest forecast.
The Institute for Supply Management, an association of purchasing managers, reported Monday that its non-manufacturing index rose to an all-time high 63.7 last month from 55.3 in February. The old record of 60.9 was set in October 2018.
Last month, hiring strengthened across the economy. Restaurants, hotels and bars—the sector that was most damaged by the virus—added 216,000 jobs. Construction companies, aided by better weather after severe storms in February, gained 110,000.
After a year of epic job losses, waves of coronavirus infections, and small business closures, numerous trends are brightening the outlook.
The size of the drop surprised economists, although it is likely that there was significant disruption from severe winter storms that hit much of the country last month, on top of ongoing supply-chain problems.
The Federal Reserve foresees the economy accelerating quickly this year yet still expects to keep its benchmark interest rate pinned near zero through 2023, despite concerns in financial markets about potentially higher inflation.
The decline from the previous month came after retail sales jumped 7.6% in January as people spent $600 stimulus checks sent at the end of last year.
Over the past year, wholesale prices are up 2.8%, the largest 12-month gain at the wholesale level in more than two years.
Consumer prices are up 1.7% over the past year, a still moderate performance for inflation, which is running below the Federal Reserve’s 2% target for price increases.
A new poll finds COVID-19 has been devastating for some Americans, while leaving others virtually unscathed or even in better shape, at least when it comes to their finances.
Janet Yellen, the first woman to head the Federal Reserve and the U.S. Treasury Department, said “there is a cultural problem in the profession, and we need to change the culture.”
