Economists: Chances of U.S. Recession Are Slim to Nil

39%

“In the latest quarterly survey by The Wall Street Journal, business and academic economists lowered the chances of a recession within the next year to 29% from 39% in the January survey. That was the lowest probability since April 2022, when the chances of a recession were set at 28%.”… “Economists, in fact, don’t think the economy will get even close to a recession.”

U.S. Economy Grew Faster than Expected in Q4 of 2023

3.3%

“The economy grew much faster than expected in the final three months of 2023, as the U.S. easily skirted a recession that many forecasters had thought was inevitable,” CNBC reports. “Gross domestic product, a measure of all the goods and services produced, increased at a 3.3% annualized rate in the fourth quarter of 2023, according to data adjusted seasonally and for inflation.”

Consumer Confidence Surged 10+ Points in December

110.7

US consumer confidence rose in December by the most since early 2021 as Americans grew more upbeat about the labor market and the inflation outlook. The Conference Board’s index increased to 110.7 in December from a revised 101 reading in November, data published Wednesday showed. The median estimate in a Bloomberg survey of forecasters called for a 104.5 reading.

Morgan Stanley Credits ‘Bidenomics’ for GDP Growth

1.9%

Morgan Stanley is crediting President Biden’s economic policies with driving an unexpected surge in the U.S. economy that is so significant that the bank was forced to make a “sizable upward revision” to its estimates for U.S. gross domestic product, CNBC reports. As a result of these unexpected swells, Morgan Stanley now projects 1.9% GDP growth for the first half of this year. That’s nearly four times higher than the bank’s previous forecast of 0.5%.