ZWF: The economy again shows its strength
Zander's Weekend Facts #103: Sunday, January 28, 2024
Inside this week’s edition of Zander’s Weekend Facts, the latest GDP numbers once again show a healthy U.S. economy, and a look at what Zander’s been reading this past week. Plus, a compilation of the top headlines you need to know about from the last seven days.
Also, go listen to the latest episode of the Zander’s Facts Podcast! Episode 130 features a breakdown of the economic picture in the U.S. and determines whether the overall negative polling of the economy is warranted. Download the Zander’s Facts podcast wherever you get your podcasts!
Here are Zander’s Weekend Facts for Sunday, January 28, 2024:
U.S. GDP above expectations to end 2023
Inflation down. Wages up. Big-time GDP growth. It sure seems like the economy was blazing in 2023.
On Thursday, the Commerce Department released its quarterly gross domestic product (GDP) update, showing that the overall economic picture continues to point in the right direction.
U.S. GDP in the fourth quarter rose by a 3.3% annualized rate, much higher than the consensus estimate from Wall Street that predicted growth at 2.0%. While down from the 4.9% growth seen in the third quarter, 3.3% is still higher than any quarter in 2022 and the first half of 2023.
In total, the economy rose by 2.5% last year. Imagine seeing that materialize after the headlines that began the year: “Forecast for US Recession Within Year Hits 100% in Blow to Biden”, “World Bank warns global economy could tip into recession in 2023”, “Weaker GDP Growth, Inflation Uncertainty Dim U.S. Economic Outlook”.
The consensus estimate for 2023 real GDP growth at the beginning of last year was 0.8%, meaning the economy outperformed expectations by 1.7%. And 2.5% is even higher than 2022’s 1.9% growth.
And it wasn’t just GDP that showed positive signs for the economy last year. After inflation rose by as much as 9% in the summer of 2022, price increases were not as stark last year. The PCE (personal consumption expenditure) price index rose by 2.7% last year, down from 5.9% in 2022. In the fourth quarter, the Federal Reserve’s preferred long-term inflation measurement rose by 2.0%, with a headline rate of 1.7%.
So as inflation came down in 2023, that also brought positive news regarding wages. Last month, average hourly wages rose 4.1% compared to a year ago, higher than the December inflation rate of 3.4%. Adjusted for inflation, wages actually rose 0.8% last year, while a congressional report found that between January 2021 and October 2023, the national average for salaries and wages rose by more than $3,500 more than the average price growth.
And to start off 2024, Americans are finally starting to feel better about the economy. The University of Michigan’s Surveys of Consumers found that the Index of Consumer Sentiment rose to 78.8 this month, which would be the highest reading since July 2021.
Can 2024 be the year that the economy’s numbers stay strong, and consumers finally believe it’s heading in the right direction? As the year begins, it’s beginning to look that way.
For more information on this week’s top story, here’s an article from CNBC - The U.S. economy grew at blistering 3.3% pace in Q4 while inflation pulled back
What Zander’s been reading
If you haven’t heard, the Stanley Cup is the craze. The latest versions are sending social media abuzz and bringing about mad dashes to get special editions of the 111-year-old bottle. But now, it’s come out that the Stanley contains lead, but only in certain circumstances. Check out whether your new favorite cup is still safe to drink out of:
Check out this week’s featured article at CNN - Stanley and other drink cups contain lead. Should you be worried? - (Apple News link)
Zander’s Facts Sporting Club
Here are the top headlines from the sports world in the Sporting Club:
NFL Conference Championships: Conference championship weekend in the NFL has arrived, with two games deciding the matchup of Super Bowl LVIII taking place later today. At 3:00 pm ET, the Kansas City Chiefs visit the Baltimore Ravens in the AFC Championship Game on CBS. Then at 6:30 pm ET on Fox, the NFC Championship Game features the San Francisco 49ers hosting the Detroit Lions. The Lions are the only team of the four to never have won a conference championship in the current AFC-NFC format, with the 49ers and Chiefs both having won at least one in the last four years. The Ravens last won a conference championship game in 2013.
NBA Scoring: Several NBA players set career marks for scoring in the last week, including Dallas Mavericks star Luka Dončić. Dončić scored a career-high 73 points against the Atlanta Hawks on Friday, also a franchise record, and tied for the fourth most points in a game in NBA history. Dončić was the second player last week to score at least 70 points, with Joel Embiid of the Philadelphia 76ers dropping 70 on Monday against the San Antonio Spurs. Dončić and Embiid join just eight other players in NBA history to have scored 70 points in a game. The Phoenix Suns’ Devin Booker and Karl Anthony-Towns of the Minnesota Timberwolves also joined in on the scoring spree, with both scoring 62 points in their respective contests.
NFL Coaching Carousel: Four NFL franchises hired new head coaches last week. On Monday, the Tennessee Titans announced they hired Brian Callahan as their head coach. Callahan had served as the offensive coordinator of the Cincinnati Bengals for the past five seasons. On Wednesday, the Los Angeles Chargers hired Jim Harbaugh, who won the college football National Championship at Michigan earlier this month, as their new head coach. Then on Thursday, the Carolina Panthers hired Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive coordinator Dave Canales, while the Atlanta Falcons announced the hiring of Los Angeles Rams defensive coordinator Raheem Morris. Only the Seattle Seahawks and Washington Commanders have not hired a head coach for next season.
Tara VanDerveer: College basketball has a new all-time winningest head coach after Tara VanDerveer passed Mike Krzyzewski in all-time wins last week. VanDerveer, the head coach of Stanford University’s women’s basketball team, won her 1,203rd game last Sunday, the most wins in NCAA basketball history. VanDerveer began her head coaching career at the University of Idaho in 1978, then stopped at The Ohio State University before joining Stanford in 1985. At Stanford, VanDerveer’s teams have won 26 regular season conference championships, have been to 15 Final Fours, and have won three National Championships.
Australian Open: The finals of the 2024 Australian Open took place this weekend, with Aryna Sabalenka winning her second straight women’s final. Sabalenka took down Qinwen Zheng in straight sets, 6-3, 6-2, to win her second consecutive Australian Open and second Grand Slam in singles. In Sunday morning’s men’s final, Jannik Sinner overcame a two set deficit to take down Daniil Medvedev, 3-6, 3-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-3, to win his first career Grand Slam.
Rapid-fire Facts
These are top news headlines from the past week in rapid-fire fashion:
Presidential Primaries: The New Hampshire presidential primaries took place last Tuesday. On the Republican side, former President Donald Trump won 54.4% of the vote over former South Carolina Governor Nicki Haley’s 43.2%. Trump won 12 delegates to Haley’s nine. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis dropped out of the race last Sunday before the primary. In the unsanctioned Democratic primary, President Joe Biden, despite his name not appearing on the ballot, got 65.5% of the vote to win the primary over Minnesota Congressman Dean Phillips’ 20.0%. The Democrats’ primary campaign officially gets underway on Saturday with the South Carolina primary. The GOP primary in South Carolina takes place on February 24, with the Nevada caucus up first on February 8.
Trump Defamation Lawsuit: A federal jury in New York ordered former President Donald Trump to pay $83.3 million in a defamation case. Trump was found to have defamed writer E. Jean Carroll in statements he made while he was president. Last year, Carroll won a lawsuit against Trump that found him liable of sexual abuse in the 1990s, when Carroll accused Trump of sexually assaulting her in a department store dressing room. The jury awarded Carroll a total of $18.3 million in compensatory damages, with another $65 million in punitive damages. Trump claimed that he will appeal the ruling.
Israel Court Ruling: The International Court of Justice ruled on Friday that Israel must do what it can to prevent a genocide in the Gaza Strip. However, the United Nations’ top court did not order a halt to any military operations taking place in Palestine. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres stressed that any rulings from the ICJ are legally binding, with the court requesting that Israel submit a report on the steps taken to comply with the ruling in the next month. According to Gaza’s health ministry, over 26,000 people have died in the territory since the beginning of the three-month war, with nearly 85% of residents having left their homes.
Louisiana Congressional Map: Earlier this month, Louisiana passed a new congressional map in order to comply with a federal court ruling. In 2022, a federal court ruled that Louisiana’s congressional map was a violation of the Voting Rights Act by only including one majority-black district out of six total districts in a state whose black population makes up almost 33% of the total population. The new map, which the state’s legislature and new Republican Governor, Jeff Landry, passed into law, makes the state’s 6th congressional district majority-black. The new 6th district is also likely to flip from Republican-leaning to Democratic-leaning, giving Democrats two favorable districts in the state.
Vince McMahon: Former World Wrestling Entertainment Chairman and CEO Vince McMahon resigned from the board of WWE’s parent company, TKO Group, on Friday. McMahon, who was TKO’s executive chairman, was accused in a lawsuit on Thursday by a former WWE employee of sexual assault and sex trafficking. The lawsuit filed by the employee, Janel Grant, found that Grant had been pressured to sign a non-disclosure agreement in exchange for $3 million, but that McMahon had only paid $1 million.
Wrapping up the Facts
Before this edition of Zander’s Weekend Facts wraps up, here’s another reminder to check out the latest episodes of the Zander’s Facts podcast. Download and listen to the latest episode of the podcast, along with every episode of Zander’s Facts, wherever you get your podcasts.
You can also listen to every episode of the podcast on this very website. All Zander’s Facts podcast episodes are now available on zandersfacts.com under the “Zander’s Facts” tab for your enjoyment! That includes the next episode of the Zander’s Facts Podcast, which comes out this Wednesday!
That’s a wrap on this week’s edition of Zander’s Weekend Facts. The facts in print return next Sunday, February 4, 2024.
