ECONOMICS

Authored by Michael Lebowitz via RealInvestmentAdvice.com,

The Atlanta Fed’s GDPNow economic forecasting tool predicts an imminent recession, which is fueling investor angst. However, the New York and St. Louis Feds’ Nowcast economic forecasts predict continued economic growth in the first quarter.

Confused?

This article explores the GDPNow and Nowcast models to understand the recent forecast divergences. A better understanding of the two models helps us (more…)

Earlier this week we pointed out the striking plunge in the Treasury's cash balance which had averaged around $800 billion for the past 18 months, and which plunged by $480 billion in the past month.

Regular readers are aware of the reason for this plunge: ever since the US hit the debt ceiling in the last days of the Biden administration, the US Treasury has been unable to issue new debt and so has been forced to draw down its cash to fund day to day operations.

Obviously, there is (more…)

By Jim Harter of Gallup

Full-time employees in the U.S. have been working fewer hours per week for the past five years. What are the implications for employees and their organizations? And what’s driving the trend?

Gallup finds that average hours worked have dropped progressively since 2019 when U.S. employees reported working an average of 44.1 hours. In 2024, they work 42.9 hours per week.

The decline in hours worked is more pronounced among younger (those younger (more…)