Economy
GROWTH DURING TROUBLED TIMES ‘No one expects that bringing about a soft landing will be straightforward’ by Patrick Revere
T
The phrase “tenuous at best” is one I often lob
Cynicism is easy. Powell said Fed officials landed
at my kids when they’re endeavoring in activities
safely in 1965, 1984, and 1994, so there is plenty of
that lead to questionable outcomes. Economic
information to operate on, but acquiesced in noting “I
conditions in the U.S., and indeed globally, seem to
hasten to add that no one expects that bringing about
be in that phase right now.
a soft landing will
What could go wrong? Plenty, in fact.
be straightforward
The Federal Reserve at least twice, if not three
i n t h e c u r r e nt
times since printing, has raised its benchmark rate
c ont ex t — ver y
from zero or near zero in the era of “the Coronavirus
little is straight-
Economy.” The general easing — that is a reduction
for wa rd i n t he
in the volume the Fed puts into the bond market —
current context.” »
several months ago began the slow-burn fight against inflation, and analysts now anticipate added increases of the benchmark rate to the tune of a quarter or half point each as many as seven more times through 2022. Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said the board will use all of its tools to work toward a soft landing, a difficult-to-achieve mix of levers that can reduce inflation without bringing on recession.
Buyers simply want the change they want, whether it’s downsizing or upsizing, buying the first home, buying a second home, moving to rural areas or out of state, moving because work at home allows for it, moving for more amenable housing markets, or just moving to move.
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