PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — The American economy has been giving mixed signals for some time. On one hand, we all know the impact that inflation is having on households. It is real, and it is significant. On the other hand, the labor market picture remains quite bright, and GDP for the third quarter came in positive — and even a bit higher than most experts expected — at 2.6%.
Economist David Fiorenza digs into what these economic indicators actually mean. Much of our conversation focused on the Federal Reserve, which once again raised interest rates this week. Should we expect this trend to continue?
Listen here:
"I think we are going to see a half a point in December," Fiorenza predicted.
The Fed has hiked interest rates several times this year in a campaign designed to attack inflation. But inflation persists — so, what gives?
"To try and tackle this inflation and bring it down to, say, a level of 5%, it's going to take longer than just the interest rate hikes of this year," Fiorenza said. "I think this is going to go into next year."
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Given these rising rates, Fiorenza gets into some strategies for anyone planning to make a significant purchase in the short term.
Plus — with Halloween in the books and the focus turning to Christmas, what can we expect from this year’s holiday economy?