In an uncertain economy, equipment purchases can be less risky than new hires. Capital expenditures can also help companies deal with a tightening labor supply.
Between COVID shortages, expired EV tax incentives, and tariff anxiety, vehicle sales have been volatile in the last few years and down in the last few months. But things could be picking up.
Economists say numbers that will be released Friday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics on unemployment and wage growth will help them get a sense of consumer’s spending power going forward.
The private credit market has grown fivefold since the 2008 financial crisis, according to the Federal Reserve, and now sits somewhere near the $2 trillion-mark globally. In the last couple weeks, though, the market has gone a bit sideways.
New data on producer price inflation, or PPI, will be released on Friday. And while it’s not the inflation that faces consumers, it impacts decisions companies make about raising prices.
Right now, consumers expect high inflation. They think, on average, inflation will be 6.5% in a year and 7.2% in five to 10 years, according to the Michigan Survey of Consumers.
