For the duration of this economic expansion, consumer spending has been the dynamo driving growth in gross domestic product, or GDP. But now there are indications Americans are getting a little too dynamic. Their actions are out of whack. For the past two years, spending has risen faster than disposable personal income, as pointed out by Jason Furman, a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics
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What’s the Yield Curve? ‘A Powerful Signal of Recessions’ Has Wall Street’s Attention
The bond market’s yield curve is perilously close to predicting a recession — something it has done with surprising accuracy — and it’s become a big topic on Wall Street. Some economists on Wall Street think the economy could be growing at around a nearly 5 percent annualized clip this quarter. But if the current economic vigor is only reflecting a short-term stimulus coming from the Trump administration’s tax cut, then some kind of slowdown is to be expected.
GDP: Trump tariff, trade war hit to economy
There's mounting anecdotal evidence that President Donald Trump's trade war is causing trouble for the US economy and businesses. But Friday's report on third-quarter gross domestic product may be the best hard evidence yet that the tariffs are causing major disruptions in the economy.
Wall St. Ignored Signs of Trouble for Months. Now It Sees Risks Everywhere
For stock investors in the United States, the political and economic outlooks have suddenly become ominous. More volatility could be in store this week. “The fact is that politics is driving the economy to an extent that is
very atypical,” said Julian Emanuel, chief equity and derivatives
strategist at BTIG, an institutional brokerage firm. “We would say
probably to the greatest extent that we’ve seen in our investing
lifetime.”
Lower Rates Already Hit Housing. They’re Not Helping Much.
Cheaper mortgages are usually a boon to the housing market. But this
year, a sharp drop in mortgage rates hasn’t provided much of a lift, and
that could bode poorly for the Federal Reserve’s efforts to shore up
economic growth.
Fed Cuts Interest Rates for First Time Since 2008 Crisis
The Federal Reserve cut interest rates
for the first time in more than a decade on Wednesday as it attempted to
guard the record-long economic expansion against mounting global risks. The
widely expected quarter-point move, the Fed’s first since it cut rates
to near zero in 2008, is meant to protect the economy against the
potentially harmful effects of a growth slowdown in China and Europe and
uncertainty from President Trump’s trade war.
U.S. Economy Slows, Denying Trump 3% Talking Point
The American economy is slowing, dragged
down by trade tensions and weak growth overseas. But there are few signs
that the decade-long expansion is on the verge of stalling out.Gross domestic product, the broadest measure of goods and services produced in the economy, rose at a 2.1 percent annual rate in the second quarter, according to preliminary data released by the Commerce Department on Friday.
Germany Nears Recession and Chinese Factories Slow in Trade War Fallout
In ominous signs of the damage being done by the trade war between China
and the United States, data released on Wednesday indicated that the
German economy was hurtling toward recession and that growth at Chinese
factories was slowing at a pace not seen in nearly two decades.
Recession watch: What is an ‘inverted yield curve’ and why does it matter?
Stock markets tanked Wednesday after the bond market sounded a loud warning that the U.S. economy might be headed toward a recession. Investors
are spooked by a scenario known as the “inverted yield curve,” which
occurs when the interest rates on short-term bonds are higher than the
interest rates paid by long-term bonds. What it means is that people are
so worried about the near-term future that they are piling into safer
long-term investments.
Six in 10 Americans expect a recession and higher prices as Trump’s approval rating slips amid concern over his trade policies
President Trump is ending a tumultuous summer with his approval rating
slipping back from a July high as Americans express widespread concern
about the trade war with China and a majority of voters now expect a
recession within the next year, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll.