06-02-2021, 11:49 AM
Under Biden, the vaccine rollout has been faster than expected at more than 3 million shots a day the past couple of weeks. “Biden gets props for getting the vaccine process sped up,” Moody says.
He also spearheaded the latest $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package, passed by Congress in March, that includes another round of $1,400 stimulus checks. The Treasury Department says it has disbursed 161 million of those payments totaling $379 billion. All told, Americans are flush with an additional $2.4 trillion that they’ve squirreled way during the outbreak and they’re ready to spend much of it just as the economy is getting back on its feet.
Put simply, the president helped put a strong recovery on steroids. “We can give Biden credit for improving consumer and business confidence,” says Bernard Baumohl, chief economist of the Economic Outlook Group.
He also spearheaded the latest $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package, passed by Congress in March, that includes another round of $1,400 stimulus checks. The Treasury Department says it has disbursed 161 million of those payments totaling $379 billion. All told, Americans are flush with an additional $2.4 trillion that they’ve squirreled way during the outbreak and they’re ready to spend much of it just as the economy is getting back on its feet.
Put simply, the president helped put a strong recovery on steroids. “We can give Biden credit for improving consumer and business confidence,” says Bernard Baumohl, chief economist of the Economic Outlook Group.
U.S. employers added 460,000 jobs in February and 916,000 in March, cutting short what was supposed to be a dark winter for the economy after 306,000 job losses in December. Nearly half the gains were in leisure and hospitality, which was decimated by the health crisis and includes restaurants, bars and hotels.
The U.S. has recovered 13.9 million, or 62%, of the 22.4 million jobs lost last spring as eateries and other businesses shuttered by the outbreak have reopened or increased capacity limits, Labor Department figures show.
“A faster vaccine rollout and further fiscal stimulus have accelerated activity,” Morgan Stanley wrote in a note to clients. Moody expects more than 1 million job gains each month this spring and a return to the pre-COVID-19 employment level sometime next year. Morgan Stanley expects the economy to grow 7.5% this year – most since 1984 – and Oxford Economics forecasts a record 7 million job gains.
Retail sales overall are now 17% above their pre-pandemic level. The strong report led Morgan Stanley to raise its forecast for consumer spending growth in the first quarter to 10.6%. It upgraded its estimate for first-quarter economic growth to 9.7%.
After falling to a six-year low in April 2020, consumer confidence surged the past couple of months as stimulus checks flooded bank accounts, and it’s now modestly below its pre-pandemic level. Americans’ view of both present conditions and their expectations for the next six months brightened.
Fourteen percent of those surveyed plan to buy a car in the next six months, up from 10.2% in February, and 8.9% intend to buy a home, up from 6%, according to the Conference Board.
In March, housing starts jumped 19.4% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.74 million, highest since 2006, Census data shows.
Overall, business spending has rocketed higher since last spring and is 10.4% above the pre-crisis mark.
Manufacturing production rose 2.7% in March, recovering just part of the weather-related 3.7% drop in February, Federal Reserve figures show. Generally, manufacturing has more than rebounded from its pandemic lows as factories meet consumer demand for electronics and other goods in the home-centered economy.
Since Biden was elected Nov. 3, the Standard & Poor’s 500 index is up 24% after hitting a record 4,187 at Monday's close. The broad market index was already on a tear and has soared 87% since hitting its nadir in March 2020, shortly after the pandemic first upended the economy.
Initially, stocks rebounded much faster than the economy, driven by tech companies such as Apple and Amazon that were thriving in the new stay-at-home reality. Since late last year, growing vaccinations and the prospect of a reopening economy have juiced the market, a dynamic Biden has stoked with more stimulus and widespread COVID-19 shots.
https://www.usatoday.com/in-depth/news/2...331851002/
The U.S. has recovered 13.9 million, or 62%, of the 22.4 million jobs lost last spring as eateries and other businesses shuttered by the outbreak have reopened or increased capacity limits, Labor Department figures show.
“A faster vaccine rollout and further fiscal stimulus have accelerated activity,” Morgan Stanley wrote in a note to clients. Moody expects more than 1 million job gains each month this spring and a return to the pre-COVID-19 employment level sometime next year. Morgan Stanley expects the economy to grow 7.5% this year – most since 1984 – and Oxford Economics forecasts a record 7 million job gains.
Retail sales overall are now 17% above their pre-pandemic level. The strong report led Morgan Stanley to raise its forecast for consumer spending growth in the first quarter to 10.6%. It upgraded its estimate for first-quarter economic growth to 9.7%.
After falling to a six-year low in April 2020, consumer confidence surged the past couple of months as stimulus checks flooded bank accounts, and it’s now modestly below its pre-pandemic level. Americans’ view of both present conditions and their expectations for the next six months brightened.
Fourteen percent of those surveyed plan to buy a car in the next six months, up from 10.2% in February, and 8.9% intend to buy a home, up from 6%, according to the Conference Board.
In March, housing starts jumped 19.4% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.74 million, highest since 2006, Census data shows.
Overall, business spending has rocketed higher since last spring and is 10.4% above the pre-crisis mark.
Manufacturing production rose 2.7% in March, recovering just part of the weather-related 3.7% drop in February, Federal Reserve figures show. Generally, manufacturing has more than rebounded from its pandemic lows as factories meet consumer demand for electronics and other goods in the home-centered economy.
Since Biden was elected Nov. 3, the Standard & Poor’s 500 index is up 24% after hitting a record 4,187 at Monday's close. The broad market index was already on a tear and has soared 87% since hitting its nadir in March 2020, shortly after the pandemic first upended the economy.
Initially, stocks rebounded much faster than the economy, driven by tech companies such as Apple and Amazon that were thriving in the new stay-at-home reality. Since late last year, growing vaccinations and the prospect of a reopening economy have juiced the market, a dynamic Biden has stoked with more stimulus and widespread COVID-19 shots.
https://www.usatoday.com/in-depth/news/2...331851002/