About a week ago, at the beginning of June, the US Census had another of its quarterly data dumps. (It’s called the “Quarterly Financial Report,” it is loved by data miners and the primary source for many many of the financial and economic things you read at google finance, yahoo finance, or in the media, but I digress.)
The most recent QFR showed, among other things
that US retail sales, adjusted for inflation,
- are still above the pre-pandemic baseline, BUT
- have been essentially flat since Mar 2021 (two-and-a-half years)
I suppose if the economy is going to stagnate, it is better to do so at an elevated level.
