The US economy is surging and life is returning to normal. Consumers have healthy balance sheets and inflation is a hot topic. Companies in hard-hit industries are even talking about having a difficult time finding staff. The Fed seems to be seeing a different picture of the economy though and has no intention of tapering pandemic era stimulus until it’s clear that the economy has returned to maximum employment and inflation is running above 2%.
It’s hard to believe that we’re approaching a year since the US economy shut down due to COVID. Vaccines continue to roll out though and people are ready to have fun. Strong demand is putting pressure on COVID-impacted supply chains and potentially creating inflationary forces.
Succinct Summary: The trade war has been weighing on the economy for most of the year. Businesses have been hesitant to invest due to the uncertainty and have been trying to mitigate the impact of tariffs. Still, the consumer has been remarkably resilient. Overall the economy is stable but not quite as strong as it was a couple of years ago.