The NCSU Index of North Carolina Leading Economic Indicators (the Index) continued its boring pattern into March, an example of where boring is good. Using the latest available data for February, the Index showed a tiny 0.1% drop in the Index. Among the five components of the Index, two...
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Long ago, my father told me it was always good to look ahead. Why? Because problems may appear that take a while to solve. If there was no advance planning for dealing with the problems, there may not be enough time to find a solution and avert possible disappointment...
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The question for 2024 is, are we are now back to the traditional economic rules?
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Data from the federal government for 2022 show the cost of the same products and services bought by a typical household was 5.8% lower in North Carolina compared to the nation.
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Why not go to zero price inflation, or even better, why not have a goal of negative inflation, meaning prices are falling?
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The number of people working across North Carolina set a record of nearly 5.1 million in November, according to the N.C. Department of Commerce, putting the state’s economy “in a good place,” says N.C. State economist Dr. Mike Walden.
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The Fed has stated on numerous occasions that its goal is an annual inflation rate of 2%. This is close to the inflation rate prior to the pandemic. However, the Fed’s stated goal raises the obvious question – why stop at a 2% inflation rate? Why not go to zero price inflation, or even better, why not have a goal of negative inflation, meaning prices are falling?
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I see a challenging but not disastrous first half of 2024, but followed by an improving and optimistic second half of the year. How challenging the first half is will determine if an official recession has occurred, or if the result has only been a slowdown. Let’s take a look at more details.
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The November job market was more robust than forecasters expected. My view is the Fed will be somewhat concerned that these numbers are too strong, especially the annualized 4% rise in wages.
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