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Economic Outlook: Archive

John Blank

Will the Regional Bank Crisis Cause a Recession?

The major question posed is this one: Is the financial stress caused by this regional banking crisis so significant that the U.S. economy will stagger into a recession?

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John Blank

Lessons to Capture from Job Postings on Indeed

Successful U.S. job market demand management supports the case for a "soft" growth landing.

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John Blank

The Global Electric Vehicle Shift

Government actors are actively spurring a more rapid adoption of electric vehicles. In turn, they are spurring on the latest info tech sector technologies.

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John Blank

Zacks 2023 CIO Survey

Chief Investment Officers (CIOs) get asked 14 questions. All questions tap into their 12-month look-ahead views: On numerous stock ETFs, broad bond classes and key macro fundamentals.

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John Blank

How Did COVID Change the U.S. Labor Market?

There is a record low 3.5% household U.S. Unemployment Rate showing up in current U.S. macro-economic data. This is an impressive macro feat...

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John Blank

Christmastime U.S. Retail Sales Update

Overall, U.S. consumers plan to spend an average of $1,430 on gifts, travel and entertainment this year -- very similar to the $1,447 they spent last year. That's up +20% over pandemic-ravaged 2020 and more than +10% over 2019.

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John Blank

5 Reasons the Housing Market Is Not About to Crash

It is well known by now that millennials will drive the housing market for years to come. They are the most educated generation in history, they are larger than the baby boomer generation, and the largest group of them are ages 29-33.

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John Blank

A Deep Dive Into Consumer Price Inflation

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) gets produced by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). The CPI uses data from household surveys. The CPI only accounts for all urban households.

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John Blank

How to Visualize THIS U.S. Economy

Economists can formally capture, and study, dynamic movement in the massive machine of an aggregate economy. At the most basic level, this is accomplished by using this easy identity.

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John Blank

The Latest on the Wealth of Nations

In a recent Development Economics article, we see some surprising data on growth pockets around the globe.

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John Blank

The Inventory Crisis

The concept of inventory, stock, or work in process (or work in progress) has been extended from manufacturing systems to service businesses and projects, by generalizing the definition to be "all work within the process of production -- all work that is or has occurred prior to the completion of production."

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John Blank

The Only Investment Indicator You Need

You must learn to pass judgment on the U.S. economy yourself. Gladly there is a simple system Zacks Chief Strategist John Blank uses that does very well in this regard.

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John Blank

Has the World Economy Seen Peak Consumer Price Inflation?

There was a small amount of embedded good news for those looking to call a peak in this episode of high consumer price inflation.

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John Blank

How Does U.S. Housing Slow Down?

At the current moment, this is the multi-trillion-dollar macro question. Zacks Chief Economist John Blank, Ph.D helps frame a coherent set of answers for all of us.

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John Blank

How to Size Up the U.S. Corporate Profit Boom?

Companies were able to boost prices amid global supply chain shortages, leaving both U.S. and global consumers paying more for everything, from gasoline to food to toys.

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John Blank

Can U.S. Healthcare Handle Another Peak COVID Surge?

What of the performance of the U.S. healthcare system, during such a mammoth COVID caseload and hospitalization crisis?

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John Blank

12 Key Risks for 2022

The IIA???s annual report,??"Pulse of Internal Audit," is based on a survey of over 500 internal audit executives. It identifies key risk areas.??

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John Blank

A World Tour of Policy Rate Hikes

With the Fed undertaking a taper, starting in November, Zacks Chief Strategist John Blank outlines this: Jerome Powell & Co. are very likely late in the cyclical game, and way behind many of their peers, in this rapidly expanding business cycle.

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John Blank

How COVID Reshaped Retail Spending, Retailers & Goods Production

Total retail sales in the United States should amount to $5.35T U.S. dollars in 2025, up from around $4.85T in 2019.

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John Blank

What Macro Factors Delivered a Surge to Record Home Prices?

A solo September 2021 fact -- all-time record home prices -- seems almost impossible. But here we are, dealing with another huge run-up in single-family U.S. home prices.

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John Blank

Did COVID Remote Working Launch Economy-Wide Productivity Gains?

In December 2020, 41.8% of the American workforce worked remotely. An estimated 26.7% will still be working from home across 2021, and 36.2 million Americans (22% of the workforce) will be working remotely by 2025.

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John Blank

Will the U.S. Economy Be Stronger Than Before the Pandemic?

Could it be that the pandemic was a catalyst and accelerator for developments that were underway even before the recession?

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John Blank

Is There a Shortage Crisis Looming?

While consumers have come to terms with the fact that orders might take longer than usual, investors are left wondering what the implication of this could be for the recovery process. Are we simply spinning our wheels for a while and will get back to business as usual soon?

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John Blank

Is the Fed Still Measuring Inflation Correctly?

In order to ascertain interest rate risk, introduced by a change in policy on the short end by the Fed, we need to understand consumer price inflation dynamics.

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John Blank

What Will Be the Impact of the New Infrastructure Plan?

With the latest round of stimulus checks barely in the mail, traders already moved on to price in the next item on the new administration's agenda: the Infrastructure Plan.

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