Consumer Spending
The United States is a consumption-driven economy. But over the last half century, the US consumer has been weakening in the face of social and economic pressures.
We can expect the surge in US inflation to subside. But not enough to help ailing consumers.
"The UK can handle change," says Mark Carney, governor of the Bank of England, in the aftermath of Brexit. However, "uncertainty over the pace, breadth and scale of these changes could weigh on our economic prospects for some time."
Recent statistics suggest that consumers are in pretty healthy shape, but macro uncertainty may still be causing some hesitation. The US Federal Reserve is also showing some hesitation, as it neglected to raise rates last week. And while Fed chair Janet Yellen reiterated that every meeting is a "live" meeting, there are some signs that even the Fed may be starting to expect that rates will be lower for some time more.