So far, 2024 isn’t going quite how it was supposed to for the US economy: Inflation has been higher than expected and household spending seems to have lost some momentum. Those trends represent a new risk for economic growth forecasts that were upgraded around the turn of the year, largely on the view that rapid disinflation would help bring about rising real incomes and lower borrowing costs. Two key reports due Wednesday, on consumer prices and retail sales, will give an indication of how real the threat is to the outlook. Payroll and wage growth slowed in April, and without a corresponding cooldown in price ... (full story)