Over the past three months, incoming data have remained consistent with a soft landing for the U.S. economy. Elevated labor force participation and the resolution of pandemic-era supply chain challenges have strengthened our economy’s productive capacity, helping create space for strong economic growth while inflation continues to cool. Just last week, the Bureau of Economic Analysis’s (BEA) advance estimate of gross domestic product (GDP) in the fourth quarter of 2023 surprised on the upside. While median forecasts expected annualized growth around 2.0 percent, the initial read of GDP growth was 3.3 percent at an ... (full story)