The numbers keep rolling in to confirm: Things look very good in the U.S. economy. Employers added half a million jobs in January, more than twice as many as economists had predicted. Spending by U.S. households rose 1.8% over December, and retail sales jumped at a higher rate than they had for nearly two years.
You'd think it would be time to kick back, sip a martini, and celebrate. But it's not. The continued strength of the U.S. economy means the Federal Reserve's efforts to slow inflation by increasing interest rates are not working as quickly as they'd hoped. Inflation rose 5.4% in January from a year ago, according to data from the Fed's preferred index released Feb. 24.
The Fed wants inflation to be around 2% and will keep increasing interest rates until it gets near that target. (Whether it should give up on that target is a question the Fed doesn't seem interested in pursuing at the moment.)
"The consumer is the stallion running wild, and the Fed is the cowboy and the Fed will win at the end of the day," says Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Analytics.
Already, the Fed has raised interest rates from near zero in April 2020 to a 15-year high of above 4.5%, the most aggressive policy since the 1980s. Officials don't expect to reduce interest rates until at least 2024.
Esta historia es de la edición March 13 - 20, 2023 (Double Issue) de Time.
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Esta historia es de la edición March 13 - 20, 2023 (Double Issue) de Time.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
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A Filmmaker's Quest to Unmask Bitcoin's Creator - Who is Bitcoin's founder, Satoshi Nakamoto? the question has perplexed and excited cryptocurrency fans ever since Bitcoin was created by someone with that username in 2009.
Who is Bitcoin’s founder, Satoshi Nakamoto? the question has perplexed and excited cryptocurrency fans ever since Bitcoin was created by someone with that username in 2009.
Unmasking prediabetes - Type 2 diabetes doesn't always arrive with a bang. It can develop slowly but eventually result in marked side effects like extreme thirst and hunger, frequent urination, blurry vision, tingling sensations, and fatigue.
Type 2 diabetes doesn’t always arrive with a bang. It can develop slowly but eventually result in marked side effects like extreme thirst and hunger, frequent urination, blurry vision, tingling sensations, and fatigue.
Animals understand death too - In 2018, field researchers in Uganda came across an unusual sight: a female chimpanzee carrying an infant she had recently given birth to that was affected by albinism, an extremely uncommon condition in this species that gives their fur a striking white color.
In 2018, field researchers in Uganda came across an unusual sight: a female chimpanzee carrying an infant she had recently given birth to that was affected by albinism, an extremely uncommon condition in this species that gives their fur a striking white color.
The Petro State - Colombia's first leftist leader wants to end oil
Last year, Colombian president Gustavo Petro watched in dismay as a political and economic crisis unfolded on the other side of his country’s eastern border. Global powers had imposed sanctions on Venezuela’s oil exports after the country’s autocratic leader, Nicolás Maduro, allegedly A his re-election. As hyperinflation fueled turmoil, millions of refugees poured into Colombia to escape.
Fortress Democracy - Despite efforts at home and abroad to undermine faith in U.S. elections, this year's vote is set to be the most secure and reliable ever. Thank new laws, fail-safes, and courageous election officials
Despite efforts at home and abroad to undermine faith in U.S. elections, this year’s vote is set to be the most secure and reliable ever. Thank new laws, fail-safes, and courageous election officials
The Beauty of Being Alone - There's a lot of fear around spending time alone. Alone time can make people itchy with boredom.
Recent articles and studies warn us about the dangers of loneliness—one 2017 study by Julianne Holt- Lunstad at BYU’s Social Connection and Health Lab claims loneliness is as bad as smoking 15 cigarettes a day. In 2023, U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy published an advisory all about the epidemic of loneliness in America. It details the genuine risks of chronic loneliness, such as increased rates of anxiety and depression, as well as dementia in older adults
What is 'American Malaria' and Are You at Risk? - Few things will leave you feeling quite so icky as returning from a jaunt outside and finding a tick clinging to your skin
Babesiosis, is causing particular concern. The disease is colloquially known as “American malaria,” partly because of its widening spread and partly because of its clinical profile. Like malaria, it can lead to headache, fever, chills, nausea, vomiting, altered mental state, anemia, low blood pressure, respiratory distress, and more.
A strip-club fairy tale with a generous heart
THERE ARE FEW FILMMAKERS AS OPENHEARTED, as stone-soup inventive, as Sean Baker.
Fanfare for the gentle man
IN WE LIVE IN TIME, THE ROMANTIC drama whose slow October rollout has swept up moviegoers in a tidal wave of tears, Andrew Garfield plays a divorced man who finds love in a hopeless place.
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