Mark Zandi
Patrons are assisted while dining along a sidewalk on Franklin Street in Chapel Hill, N.C., Friday, April 16, 2021. As consumers increasingly venture away from home, demand has begun to shift away from manufactured goods and toward services, from airline fares to restaurant meals, triggering inflation in those areas. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome)
Another jump in prices tightens the squeeze on US consumers

By Martin Crutsinger Jun. 10, 2021 08:42 AM EDT

A patron leaves Charleys Philly Steaks restaurant, Friday, June 4, 2021, in Mayfield Heights, Ohio. Hiring in the United States picked up in May yet was slowed again by the struggles of many companies to find enough workers to keep up with the economy's swift recovery from the pandemic recession. U.S. employers added 559,000 jobs last month, the Labor Department said Friday, an improvement from April's sluggish increase of 278,000. (AP Photo/Tony Dejak)
EXPLAINER: 5 key takeaways from the May jobs report

By Paul Wiseman Jun. 04, 2021 03:20 PM EDT

A member of the wait staff delivers food to outdoor diners along the sidewalk at the Mediterranean Deli restaurant in Chapel Hill, N.C., Friday, April 16, 2021. The U.S. economy grew at a brisk 6.4% annual rate last quarter — a show of strength fueled by government aid and declining viral cases that could drive further gains as the nation rebounds with unusual speed from the pandemic recession. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome)
US recovery from pandemic recession is showing momentum

By Martin Crutsinger And Paul Wiseman Apr. 29, 2021 08:36 AM EDT

Passers-by walks near an entrance to a Gap clothing store, Thursday, Feb. 25, 2021, in Cambridge, Mass. Bouncing back from months of retrenchment, America’s consumers stepped up their spending by a solid 2.4% in January in a sign that the economy may be making a tentative recovery from the pandemic recession. Friday’s report from the Commerce Department also showed that personal incomes, which provide the fuel for spending, jumped 10% last month, boosted by cash payments most Americans received from the government. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)
Consumer spending dipped 1% as winter storms raked the US

By Martin Crutsinger Mar. 26, 2021 10:19 AM EDT

In this photo released by the Suez Canal Authority on Thursday, March 25, 2021, the Ever Given, a Panama-flagged cargo ship, after it become wedged across the Suez Canal and blocking traffic in the vital waterway, is seen from another vessel. An operation is underway to try to work free the ship, which further imperiled global shipping Thursday as at least 150 other vessels needing to pass through the crucial waterway idled waiting for the obstruction to clear. (Suez Canal Authority via AP)
EXPLAINER: Suez Canal block could hit product supply chains

By David Koenig And Chris Rugaber Mar. 25, 2021 05:59 PM EDT

A pedestrian walks past a shuttered store and one that is having a store closing sale in New York's Financial District, Tuesday, March 23, 2021. The U.S. economy grew at an annual rate of 4.3% in the final three months of 2020, slightly faster than previously estimated, as recovery expectations for 2021 rise along with vaccinations as the U.S. unleashes nearly $2 trillion in government support. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)
Government revises 4th quarter GDP up slightly to 4.3%

By Martin Crutsinger Mar. 25, 2021 09:55 AM EDT

FILE - In this Dec. 10, 2020 file photo, a woman carries shopping bags in New York. The nation’s largest retail trade group is forecasting strong retail sales growth in 2021 that could surpass last year's pace as individuals get vaccinated and the economy reopens. The National Retail Federation anticipates that retail sales will grow between 6.5% and 8.2% to more than $4.33 trillion this year. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan, File)
US consumers rebound to boost spending 2.4% as income jumps

By Martin Crutsinger Feb. 26, 2021 08:42 AM EST

FILE - In this Dec. 17, 2020, file photo people check in at a food bank held at Los Angeles Boys & Girls Club in the Lincoln Heights neighborhood of Los Angeles. California's unemployment rate edged up nearly 1 percentage point last month as the state shed more than 52,000 jobs led by the pandemic-hobbled restaurant and lodging industries, the state's beleaguered Employment Development Department reported Friday, Jan. 22, 2021. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong,File)
US economy shrank 3.5% in 2020 after growing 4% last quarter

By Martin Crutsinger Jan. 28, 2021 08:43 AM EST

A hiring sign shows outside of Gray M. Sanborn Elementary School in Palatine, Ill., Thursday, Nov. 5, 2020. Illinois reports biggest spike in unemployment claims of all states. On Wednesday, Dec. 23, the number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits fell by 89,000 last week to a still-elevated 803,000, evidence that the job market remains under stress nine months after the coronavirus outbreak sent the U.S. economy into recession and caused millions of layoffs. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
US layoffs remain elevated as 803,000 seek jobless aid

By Paul Wiseman Dec. 23, 2020 08:36 AM EST

Editorial Roundup: Excerpts from recent Wisconsin editorials

By The Associated Press Dec. 10, 2020 04:09 PM EST
Journal Times, Racine, Dec. 10 Congress should help both landlords and renters One American crisis, the COVID-19...

A shopper in a face mask looks over cuts of beef piled up in a cold room for purchase at a Costco warehouse store Tuesday, May 5, 2020, in west Denver. The U.S. economy rebounded at an even-stronger pace in the July-September quarter than first reported but a resurgence in the coronavirus is expected to slow growth sharply in the current quarter with some analysts even raising the specter of a double-dip recession. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
Unchanged from early estimate, US economy grew 33.1% in Q3

By Martin Crutsinger Nov. 25, 2020 09:24 AM EST

A sales associate helps customers as they consider the purchase of a big-screen television at a Costco warehouse on Wednesday, Nov. 18, 2020, in Sheridan, Colo. U.S. consumer confidence fell to a reading of 96.1 in November as rising coronavirus cases pushed Americans’ confidence down to the lowest level since August. The Conference Board said the November reading represented a drop from a revised 101.4 in October. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
Picture of US economy is worrisome as virus inflicts damage

By Martin Crutsinger And Paul Wiseman Nov. 25, 2020 08:35 AM EST

Federal Reserve Board Chairman Jerome Powell testifies during a Senate Banking Committee hearing, Thursday Sept. 24, 2020 on Capitol Hill in Washington about the CARES Act and the economic effects of the coronavirus pandemic. (Drew Angerer/Pool via AP)
Fed confronts a shaky US economy that likely needs more help

By Martin Crutsinger Nov. 04, 2020 01:01 PM EST

FILE - In this Sept. 25, 2020 file photo, a woman shops at a clothing store in New York. The U.S. economy grew at a sizzling 33.1% annual rate in the July-September quarter — by far the largest quarterly gain on record — rebounding from an epic plunge in the spring, when the eruption of the coronavirus closed businesses and threw tens of millions out of work. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan, File)
Surge in virus threatens to reverse global economic rebounds

By Martin Crutsinger Oct. 28, 2020 11:54 AM EDT

FILE - In this June 30, 2020 file photo, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell testifies during a House Financial Services Committee hearing on the coronavirus response on Capitol Hill in Washington. U.S. consumers lifted their spending in May and June but businesses remained cautious because of the tremendous uncertainty surrounding the economic outlook, Federal Reserve officials said at a policy meeting last month. The nascent economic recovery faces several risks, Fed officials said in discussions during their most recent meeting on July 28-29. (Tasos Katopodis/Pool via AP)
Powell edges toward loosening the Fed's stance on inflation

By Martin Crutsinger Aug. 26, 2020 11:03 AM EDT

FILE - In this July 13, 2020 file photo, a For Rent sign hangs on a closed shop during the coronavirus pandemic in Miami Beach, Fla. Having endured what was surely a record-shattering slump last quarter, the U.S. economy faces a dim outlook as a resurgent coronavirus intensifies doubts about the likelihood of any sustained recovery the rest of the year. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
US is expected to report a record-breaking economic plunge

By Martin Crutsinger Jul. 29, 2020 11:50 AM EDT

White House chief of staff Mark Meadows speaks to reporters at the Capitol, Thursday, July 23, 2020, in Washington. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
Mnuchin, Pelosi talk virus relief; GOP slashes jobless aid

By Lisa Mascaro Jul. 28, 2020 12:18 AM EDT

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Ky., during a news conference on on Capitol Hill in Washington, Monday, July 27, 2020, to highlight their proposal for the next coronavirus stimulus bill. McConnell is joined by, from left, Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
White House, Democrats at odds on virus aid but talking

By Lisa Mascaro Jul. 27, 2020 12:47 AM EDT

FILE - In this June 4, 2020 file photo, a pedestrian wearing a mask walks past a reader board advertising a job opening for a remodeling company, in Seattle. U.S. companies added nearly 2.4 million jobs in June, according to a private survey, a large gain that still leaves the job market far below its pre-pandemic levels. The payroll company ADP said that small businesses reported the largest gain, adding 937,000 jobs. Construction firms and restaurants and hotels also posted big increases in hiring. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson, File)
Survey: Companies added 2.4 million jobs in June

By Christopher Rugaber Jul. 01, 2020 08:37 AM EDT

A person walks past a row of closed businesses, Wednesday, April 29, 2020, in Upper Darby, Pa. Devastated by the coronavirus, the U.S. economy is sinking. Now, as some businesses in a few states start to trickle back to work, hopes are beginning to arise that the economy, damaged as it is, might be poised to rebound by the second half of the year. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
US GDP fell at 5.0% rate in Q1; worse is likely on the way

By Martin Crutsinger Jun. 25, 2020 08:43 AM EDT