In the past two years, our economy has shown numerous anomalies. Typical indicators of growth and decline have often conflicted in the same quarter. The first quarter of 2023 was no exception with high profile layoffs but historically low unemployment rates. GDP projections remain positive amid even further Fed rate hikes. We saw job growth and business spending start to slow, but consumer spending continues to be high, making taming inflation extremely difficult. As we predicted in our last issue, the Fed raised the Federal Funds rate .25% in February and March. The first quarter also saw the collapse of two regional banks, which will result in less available credit and points to an impending recession.
