WASHINGTON
\nThe U.S. economy appears to be slowing, and could hit a recession this year, according to experts, economic indicators and major corporations.
\n\u201cIt is very likely that the economy will be tipped into recession by mid-year,\u201d said Desmond Lachman, senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and a former official at the International Monetary Fund.
\nGDP, which measures all goods and services produced in the United States, rose at a paltry 1.1 percent annualized pace in the year\u2019s first quarter, according to the Commerce Department.
\nSuch growth is considered weak, and the numbers missed economists\u2019 expectations of 2 percent growth.
\nThat marked a significant decline from last year\u2019s fourth quarter increase of 2.6 percent. The disappointing GDP report should \u201ccome as no surprise,\u201d considering that the Federal Reserve has been engaged in the most aggressive interest rate hiking cycle in the past 40 years, Lachman told media.
\nThe economy showed signs of wobbling even before the release of that data.
\nU.S. retail sales dropped 1 percent in March amid consumer cutbacks on autos and other big-ticket purchases an indication that the economy is slowing. That came on the heels of a decline in the month prior.
\nAt the same time, weakening demand led to a decline in factory production last month.
\nMajor corporations\u2019 earnings also show signs of a slowing economy.
\nU.S. trucking giant UPS earlier this week reported that revenue slipped 6 percent in the first quarter, compared with the same period last year.
\n\u201cIn the first quarter, deceleration in U.S. retail sales resulted in lower volume than we anticipated,\u201d UPS\u2019 earning statement said.
\n\u201cGiven current macro conditions, we expect volume to remain under pressure,\u201d the company said.
\nEconomists have been predicting a recession for over a year, with many forecasting a mild one. But some believe there\u2019s a risk of a sharper downturn.
\nCurrent financial market \u201cfragilities\u201d might make any recession \u201cmore severe than the average postwar recession,\u201d Lachman said.
\nEconomists also warned that the recent crash of Silicon Valley Bank could harm mid-size banks and have a spillover effect on the broader economy. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
WASHINGTON The U.S. economy appears to be slowing, and could hit a recession this year, according to experts, economic indicators and major corporations. \u201cIt is very likely that the economy will be tipped into recession by mid-year,\u201d said Desmond Lachman, senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and a former official at the International Monetary […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":328376,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-328359","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n