JULY 25, 2022 – UPCOMING WEEK OF BIG ECONOMIC NEWS AND FED MEETING
The Federal Reserve meets this week and there will be an increase in the interest rate, the expectations are it will go up by 0.75 percent. In addition, several major economic indicators for the last month and last quarter will be released, which will give us a better indication of whether the economy is headed to, or is in, a recession.
Second-quarter gross domestic product will be released Thursday. The Fed’s preferred personal consumption expenditures inflation data comes out Friday morning, along with the employment cost index and consumer sentiment. Home prices and new home sales are reported Tuesday. A number of large corporations will be reporting quarterly earnings this week as well.
The Fed has been moving interest rates up more aggressively than they have in decades, attempting to slow down inflation that is running at a 40-year high. Q2 GDP is expected to be negative by many forecasters, which would mean two consecutive quarters of contractions: a sign of a recession. But declaring the economy as being in a recession is not a given, as the unemployment rate has remained low.