Dear Readers,
Seasons greetings! It seems the adage ‘the only constant is change’ is definitely ringing true. Heading into 2021, there may be a lot of uncertainty about regulation enforcement and the organization of the CFPB, and after an unpredictable year like 2020, that’s not exactly the best news for those craving stability.
While the housing and lending industries seem to be finishing the year strong, other areas of the economy aren’t fairing as well. According to an article from Reuters, retail sales increased less than expected in October, and could continue to slow in light of the increasing number of COVID-19 cases and the decrease in household income as government financial support expires.
Though this slowdown may be disheartening, the National Association of Federally-Insured Credit Unions’ (NAFCU) Chief Economist and Vice President of Research Curt Long said to expect retail sales to remain steady in the coming months.
“It may be that consumption has merely settled in near its pre-crisis trend; after all, sales are still up by a healthy margin versus a year ago,” he said. “Notably, the conference board’s measure of consumer confidence was little changed in October after a large increase in September…Consumption has been resilient through the pandemic, and NAFCU expects retail activity to remain fairly steady until a vaccine becomes available.”
As always, only time will tell.
Stay in touch (but socially distant),
Elizabeth C. Childers, Esq.
Editor, Dodd Frank Update