U.S. Economic News
June 12, 2020
U.S. Economic Indicators
The University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index rose 6.6 points to 78.9 in the preliminary June reading but is down 19.3 points from June of last year. The Index of Consumer Expectations rose 7.2 points to 73.1, while the Current Economic Conditions Index rose 5.5 points to 87.8. University of Michigan
U.S. News
A recent survey by the Wall Street Journal found that more than two-thirds of economists expect the economic recovery to begin in the third quarter of 2020, though most expect the recovery to be slow and follow a gradual “swoosh” pattern. Projections for end-of-year unemployment and GDP growth improved slightly from the prior month’s survey, with December unemployment projected to be 9.6%, while 2020 GDP is forecast to shrink 5.9%. WSJ
The New York Times reports that lawmakers introduced bipartisan legislation this week that would invest billions of dollars over the next decade into the U.S. semiconductor industry – the latest effort in the shifting Washington consensus to combat Chinese technological ambitions. While congress has subsidized the semiconductor industry in the past, the current bill’s emphasis on domestic manufacturing is a consequence of the pandemic which has raised concerns of over-reliance on foreign electronics supply chains. NYT