That is even assuming you believe this administration to publish accurate figures. If you are skeptical, ADP, the payroll company, reported way lower figures.
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said Friday that the central bank can wait to see how President Donald Trump’s aggressive policy actions play out before it moves again on interest rates.
With markets nervous over Trump’s proposals for tariffs and other issues, Powell reiterated statements he and his colleagues have made recently counseling patience on monetary policy amid the high level of uncertainty.
The White House “is in the process of implementing significant policy changes in four distinct areas: trade, immigration, fiscal policy, and regulation,” he said in a speech for the U.S. Monetary Policy Forum. “It is the net effect of these policy changes that will matter for the economy and for the path of monetary policy.”
Noting that “uncertainty around the changes and their likely effects remains high” Powell said the Fed is “focused on separating the signal from the noise as the outlook evolves. We do not need to be in a hurry, and are well positioned to wait for greater clarity.”
The comments seem at least somewhat at odds with growing market expectations for interest rate cuts this year.
the statement is: monetary policy is generally best as a gradually implimented tool that allows people to somewhat anticipate upcoming monetary changes. Since the Fed doesn't know what the hell the new bozo administration is doing, with its whiplashing all over the place, the Fed has no choice but to wait for the impact of these chaotic policies to take hold, and then react and try to soften the blow once the scope of the damage is more clear.
The Fed and the Biden Administration worked to prevent a major recession in the wake of Covid, something all Americans bore the brunt of with inflation and raised interest rates. And the Trump administration is doing everything it can to create a recession.
I look forward to the Trump administration putting out its plan to cut taxes for the rich by $4.5 TRILLION and claiming that it will be entirely paid for by "growth" when we are barreling towards a recession.
I look forward to the Trump administration putting out its plan to cut taxes for the rich by $4.5 TRILLION and claiming that it will be entirely paid for by "growth" when we are barreling towards a recession.
Tragically and infuriatingly, the maga folk (virtually) never involve themselves in fact-based analysis or critical thinking, nor do more than a very few have the inherent ability to do do competently even if they were willing to try, from my experience.
The only input they allow to penetrate their barriers is that which completely reinforces their existing beliefs.
Hence even a bastion of 24-7 "conservative" jingoism, misinformation, outright lies, and political bias turned up to 11 such as Fox news gets furiously set upon by maga on those very rare occasions where they actually challenge something trump or the top maga leaders says or does.
It's how we now have the subterranean levels of shit circus networks like OAN and Newsmax in our world today. The lowest levels previously established by Fox weren't low enough.
The deterioration in consumer sentiment was even worse than anticipated in March as worries over inflation intensified, according to a University of Michigan survey released Friday.
The final version of the university’s closely watched Survey of Consumers showed a reading of 57.0 for the month, down 11.9% from February and 28.2% from a year ago. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones had been expecting 57.9, which was the mid-month level.
It was the third consecutive decrease and stretched across party lines and income groups, survey director Joanne Hsu said.
“Consumers continue to worry about the potential for pain amid ongoing economic policy developments,” she said.
In addition to worries about the current state of affairs, the survey’s index of consumer expectations tumbled to 52.6, down 17.8% from a month ago and 32% for the same period in 2024.
Inflation fears drove much of the downturn. Respondents expect inflation a year from now to run at a 5% rate, up 0.1 percentage point from the mid-month reading, and a 0.7 percentage point acceleration from February. At the five-year horizon, the outlook now is for 4.1%, the first time the survey has had a reading above 4% since February 1993.
Economists worry President Donald Trump’s tariff plans will spur more inflation, possibly curtailing the Federal Reserve from further interest rate cuts.
The report came the same day the Commerce Department said the core inflation rate increased to 2.8% in February, after a 0.4% monthly gain that was the biggest move since January 2024.
