Federal Reserve mouthpiece: US economy may face a hard landing

Odaily Planet Daily News For the past year, U.S. economic policymakers have been focused on achieving a so-called "soft landing," that is, reducing inflation without a recession. Now, policymakers are considering a course correction that, by their own admission, could lead the economy toward a hard landing. In recent days, U.S. President Trump and his senior advisers have shown indifference to the rising risk of a setback in private sector investment due to trade uncertainty. They believe that "detoxification" may be needed in terms of spending and hiring, that falling stock values ​​are not worrisome, and that inflation may rise in the short term. To be sure, U.S. economic growth was stable and the stock market was high when Trump took over, but there were also vulnerabilities brought about by a stagnant housing sector and a cooling labor market. At the beginning of this year, investors were indifferent to these flaws because they expected the new government to focus on reviving economic growth. After Trump's election in November last year, the stock market soared as investors expected a bullish stimulus from tax cuts and deregulation, just like in 2017, the first year of Trump's presidency. Dario Perkins, an economist at GlobalData TS Lombard in London, said: "People could only see the good side of Trump's promises. But this has basically disappeared, and now we are back to the observation period of recession." (Jinshi)