“The economy is going to be very uncomfortable between now and when we get the next fiscal rescue package. If lawmakers can’t get it together, it will be very difficult for the economy to avoid going back into a recession.”
– Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics, on rising unemployment claims
“This winter will be grim.”
– Economists at JPMorgan Chase, in a report slashing their forecast for the 2021 first quarter to a negative 1% annual GDP rate
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“Before the coronavirus pandemic, the U.S. unemployment rate was just 3.5% – as low as it had been in half a century. But economic growth fell short of what President Trump and his advisers promised. The economy grew 2.2% last year, roughly on par with the pace over the past decade. Growth briefly hit Trump’s 3% target in 2018, following passage of the Republican tax cut. But that now appears to have been a short-lived “sugar high.” While supporters of the tax cut said it would encourage more business investment and spark a decade of sustained 3% annual growth, business investment actually slumped for most of last year. That was partly a result of sagging global demand as well as uncertainty stemming from the president’s trade war.”
– Scott Horsley, NPR Chief Economics Correspondent, in response to Donald Trump’s claims about an improving economy during the President’s speech at the Republican National Convention
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Chief Writing Wolf 