NEW YORK (Project Syndicate) —The global financial and economic outlook for the year ahead has soured rapidly in recent months, with policy makers, investors, and households now asking how much they should revise their expectations, and for how long. That depends on the answers to six questions. Six questions First, will the rise in inflation…
Deutsche Bank, the first major bank to predict a US recession in the current inflationary era, now sees a chance that price gains won’t come off nearly as much as forecasters or Federal Reserve policy makers think they will. Deutsche Bank DB, -2.61% Macro strategist Tim Wessel said in a phone interview on Wednesday that…
If you want to know why Americans are so grumpy about the economy, let’s start with the fact that despite strong job growth and sizable increases in wages, their incomes are simply not keeping up with inflation. Americans just don’t feel poorer — they are poorer. In fact, they have never lost so much purchasing…
Investors and traders attempting to navigate one of the most treacherous periods in financial markets in years are all but sure to face more volatility during the second half of this year. One major reason is that few seem to be prepared for the risk that US inflation, already at an almost 41-year high of…
Consumers are spending more on goods and services, but they aren’t the only ones feeling a pinch. Small-business owners are facing their own constraints: higher prices and delays for supplies they need to serve their customers. Small businesses have fewer options than their bigger counterparts. When the going gets tough, they often lack the other…
Read More “Inflation is hitting small businesses hardest in these cities and states” »
It’s easy to want to duck for cover given the carnage seen this year in stocks and bonds, particularly with the Federal Reserve vowing to wage an unconditional battle against high inflation. While inflation running at a 40-year high still sits near the top of the list of worries for many investors, another potential bugaboo…
US stocks closed higher Thursday after Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell concluded a second day of congressional testimony with a vow to battle inflation, even if it risks a recession. What happened with stocks? The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA rose 194.23 points, or 0.6%, to end near session highs at 30,677.36, after flipping between…
As prices rise, everywhere, for pretty much everything, the prospect of the human suffering this will cause is deeply worrying. There are predictions that the number of people in the world experiencing acute hunger — currently 276 million — could soon rise by as many as 47 million. To address the problem, one thing that…
Read More “Opinion: Rising prices: why the global drive to keep food cheap is unsustainable” »
WASHINGTON (Project Syndicate) nIn response to surging prices, President Joe Biden declared this month that “fighting inflation” is his “top economic priority.” He promises that his administration “will continue to do everything we can to lower prices for the American people.” Yet notwithstanding such statements of commitment, Biden has refused to lift the Trump administration’s…
Unprecedented forest fires in the drought-stricken Western United States. Tropical storms and rising seas threatening the Gulf and Atlantic coasts. Sizzling heat across swaths of the country. As climate change unfolds before our eyes, what can the US do to sharply and rapidly reduce its share of the greenhouse gas emissions that are causing it?…
