Late last week, plenty of headlines blared that real GDP declined 32.9% in the second quarter...Real GDP was not 32.9% lower in Q2 than it was in Q1; it was 9.5% lower...In other words, the drop wasn't 32.9% for one quarter, it fell at a 32.9% annualized rate for one quarter.
The key to remember is that we have already seen the worst of the crisis. The US economy will take years to get back to where it was before COVID-19, but a recovery has already started. Businesses and entrepreneurs have adapted and made the best of an awful situation, including massive government overreach. Better days are headed our way.
A lunch has to come from somewhere, and once it is consumed, it’s not available for someone else to consume. Another way to say it, someone needs to produce what we consume. Supply comes before demand. Without supply – without production – we have nothing to bring to “the market” in exchange for something else.
Holding Colleges Accountable It's time to think about something other than COVID, statues, the election, and defunding the police. How about higher education? Specifically, student loans and grants.
Because we put the odds of another nation-wide economic shutdown very low, we expect economic data to continue to improve in the weeks and months ahead... With this flood of new money, and an improvement in economic data, equity markets should continue to rise.
Showing how health and wealth awareness can come together for maximum wellness. What follows are the 8 key considerations involved in achieving a cohesive, inclusive plan that takes into consideration the realities of life, especially as we age.
Not Locking Down...while cases have increased, deaths from the virus have not. According to data from Worldometer, in the seven days ending Sunday, deaths averaged 596 per day nationwide, the lowest since March, and are down almost 75% from the peak in mid-April.
Turning off the global economic light-switch, and then turning it partially back on, has sent shock waves through economic data that, while anticipated, have been jaw-dropping in both directions. US retail sales plunged a combined 21.8% in March and April, before rising 17.7% in May...
In the meantime, this week's reports should show that the economy was healing before the Fed's meeting. Retail sales, industrial production, and housing starts should all be up sharply for May, and we expect a continued decline in claims for unemployment insurance, as well. We are still a long way off from being fully recovered, but the process has to start somewhere. In May, the recovery began.
The recession that started in March is the sharpest downturn since the Great Depression. As it turns out, it was also the shortest. This doesn’t mean the US is fully recovered, or even close; a full recovery is going to take at least a few years. But...