The U.S. economy is following an unusual trajectory, with weakening output but strong job gains. Gross domestic product (GDP), a broad measure of the goods and services produced across the economy, fell at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 0.6% in the second quarter, following a contraction of 1.6% in the first quarter of 2022. Read more
Economic Outlook
Stress Factors: Economic and Stock Market Update
Stocks have had both back-to-back downturns and a relief rally so far in 2022. Investor sentiment has flip-flopped as a result. Where is it heading? Federal Reserve tightening, inflation, and the war in Ukraine have been the dominant big-picture forces influencing the economy in 2022. This confluence of negative factors set U.S. stocks up for Read more
Economic Outlook ’22: From a Boil to a Simmer
The U.S. economy was really cooking in 2021; bubbling with tasty ingredients like consumers eager to spend and a huge inventory spend in the last quarter, the economy grew at its fastest pace since 1984. But in 2022, the outlook predicts a blander cooling-down period. The challenges faced in 2021—tangled supply chains, tight labor markets, Read more
Good Times, Bad Times: Where is the U.S. Economy Headed After the Third Quarter?
While the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic’s economic effects may look to be behind us, the best of the pumped-up growth resulting from lockdown recovery also appears likely to be in the rear-view mirror. At Bowen Asset Management, we expect the U.S. economy to return to more normal growth rates in the second half of Read more
Halftime Report: 2021 Mid-Year Outlook
With the 2021 economic year halfway done, we can say the U.S. economy is broadly on a path toward having a solid year of strong growth—but, as always, there will be bumps along the way. The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic remain; supply-chain disruptions are weighing on output, while the Delta variant of the coronavirus Read more
Climbing Back: Is the Economy on the Rebound?
The plunge the U.S. economy took during the pandemic in spring 2020 was precipitous, with economic charts that resembled steep cliffs. In April 2020, industrial output fell 12.7%, the worst drop seen in a century of record-keeping. Entire industries shut down virtually overnight. In two months (March and April), employers cut 22 million jobs, more Read more