Recession

Fears of a recession, massive interest rate increases, and crippling inflation dominated news stories in the past year.

The stock market suffered greatly at this time, with the Nasdaq losing more than one-third of its value and the S&P 500 losing almost one-fifth of its value. By far, each of the three major US markets had its worst year since 2008.

However, now that 2022 has come to an end, there are some definite signs of economic improvement that raise the possibility that 2023 won't be the year the next recession starts.

Historic jobs recovery

Hiring remains surprisingly resilient. The economy added a robust 263,000 jobs in November, and the unemployment rate is just 3.7% — down dramatically from nearly 15% in the spring of 2020.

This is just a touch above the half-century low that was tied earlier this year. Although major tech and media companies including Amazon, Twitter and Meta have laid off thousands of workers, initial jobless claims remain low. And new numbers published last week show first-time applications for unemployment benefits edged up to 225,000. That’s still low historically and almost exactly where jobless claims were a year ago, long before recession fears emerged.

“This is one reason to the be optimistic the economy could skirt a recession,” Moody’s Analytics chief economist Mark Zandi told CNN on Thursday. “Without mass layoffs, it’s unlikely consumers will stop spending and the economy suffer a downturn.”

Inflation is cooling

The cost of living is still way too high, but the rate of inflation appears to have peaked.

Consumer prices soared by 7.1% year-over-year in November. At almost any other point in the past 40 years, that would be alarmingly high. But this marked the fifth-straight month of improvement and a significant cooldown from 9.1% in June. It’s also the lowest annual inflation rate in nearly a year.

If this trend continues, it could significantly lower the risk of a recession. But if inflation remains well above the Federal Reserve’s 2% target, that would be problematic.

Comments

Makiivka: Russia blames missile attack on soldiers' mobile phone use

Russia has said a new year missile attack that killed at least 89 Russian soldiers happened because troops were using mobile phones, defying a ban. Turning on the phones and massive use of them allowed the enemy to locate its target, officials said. Ukraine says 400 soldiers were killed - and another 300 wounded - in the attack on a college for conscripts in Makiivka, in the occupied Donetsk area. It is the largest number of deaths Russia has acknowledged in the war. Russia said that at 00:01 Moscow time on New Year's Day, six rockets were fired from a US-made Himars rocket system at a vocational college, two of which were shot down. Moments earlier President Vladimir Putin had given his annual new year address on Russian TV. The deputy commander of the regiment, Lt Col Bachurin, was among those killed, the ministry of defence said in a statement on Wednesday. A commission was investigating the circumstances of the incident, the statement said. But it was "already obvious...

Can Science Rule Out God?

Introduction: The question of whether science can rule out the existence of God is a subject of ongoing debate. While science is a powerful tool for understanding the natural world, its scope is limited to empirical observations and testable hypotheses. Exploring the relationship between science and the concept of God requires careful consideration of the different realms they address. Scientific Method and the Natural World: The scientific method relies on empirical evidence, experimentation, and logical reasoning to understand the natural world. It seeks to explain phenomena through observable and measurable data. By its nature, science is restricted to investigating the physical universe and the laws that govern it. The Limitations of Science: God, as a concept, typically goes beyond the realm of empirical observation. Traditional religious beliefs often involve metaphysical claims that cannot be directly tested or measured through scientific methods. God is often described as ...

The ways to promote your YouTube channel for more views

There’s no better time than now to figure out how to promote your YouTube channel. Why “now,” though? For starters, YouTube is the second most-visited site on the web, and in a day and age where we’re spending up to six hours per day consuming video, the writing is on the wall. If you want to stand out on YouTube, you need to take advantage of as many promotional tactics as possible. Below we’ll go into detail on each of these tactics for promoting your YouTube channel and maximizing your viewership. Whether you’re just getting started or want to see your numbers tick further upward, these tips are all fair game. 5 Strategies to get more views on YouTube In addition to the 16 tips below, make sure you’re up on all things YouTube to maximize your efforts with these guides: How to create a YouTube channel for business – Simplify setting up and perfecting your business channel. 11 Tips for writing YouTube descriptions – Differentiate your videos a...

News Lock

Search This Blog