US economy sending mixed signals: Here's what it all means
For a few weeks in late January and early February, the U.S. economy seemed to have reached a rare sweet spot
WASHINGTON (AP) — Maybe it was just too good to be true.
For a few weeks in late January and early February, the U.S. economy seemed to have reached a rare sweet spot. Inflation was steadily slowing from painful heights. And growth and hiring remained surprisingly sturdy despite ever-higher interest rates imposed by the Federal Reserve.
Perhaps, the thinking went, the Fed's inflation fighters were managing to nail a notoriously difficult “soft landing'': A scenario in which borrowing and spending slow just enough to tame inflation without tipping the world's biggest economy into a recession.
“We were looking at landings that were pillow-soft,’’ recalled Diane Swonk, chief economist at the accounting giant KPMG. “There was a bit of glee about that.’’
