The U.S. economy grew at a solid pace in the third quarter of 2023, boosted by strong consumer spending and government spending. According to the “advance” estimate released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), real gross domestic product (GDP) expanded at an annual rate…
In the second quarter of 2024, the U.S. economy grew twice as fast as it did in the first quarter, supported by consumer spending and private inventory investment. Furthermore, the data from the GDP report suggests that inflation is cooling. The GDP price index rose…
Compared to the fourth quarter of 2023, the U.S. economy grew at a noticeably slower pace in the first quarter of 2024 due to an increase in the trade deficit and weaker inventory investment. But it was still on solid ground supported by consumers, the…
As economist Milton Friedman once quipped, monetary policy has a history of operating with “long and variable lags.”[1] What Friedman was expressing is that it takes some time for the true effects of monetary policy, like the changing of the federal funds rate, to permeate…
The U.S. economy grew at a surprisingly strong pace in the fourth quarter, mainly fueled by resilient consumer spending. However, the fourth quarter data from the GDP report suggests that inflation is cooling. The GDP price index rose 1.5% for the fourth quarter, down from…
The U.S. economy had remarkable growth in the third quarter of 2023, fueled by consumer spending. The GDP price index rose 3.5% for the third quarter, up from a 1.7% increase in the second quarter. The Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) Price Index, capturing inflation (or…
