Is the American dollar broken? | News

Fox Business News reported that today’s operating environment remains dynamic with consumers pulling back on discretionary spending.

“I could really only find three, maybe four areas that are really helping to boost the economy,” said Nancy Lazar, chief global economist at Piper Sandler. “Not surprisingly, defense, artificial intelligence, investment banks and online retailers. There are 12 other sectors in the consumer space alone that are really struggling. We see auto inventories at a record high, and we are thinking that prices are going to decline. That is going to be particularly painful for the auto industry because they just gave big wage increases.”

Lazar says that industries such as automobile, airlines and restaurants are going to feel a huge squeeze.

“Strangely, the price of sweets and candy has gone up 22% in three years,” said Lazar. “Other areas that are getting weaker in the economy are wines and spirits, household-related items, higher end consumer items, commercial real estate, delivery and freight, and battery factories.”

When asked about whether a recession could be on the horizon, Lazar responded, “The level of unemployment is still low, but it is rising.”

“There is a growing list of layoff announcements,” she said. “I would say the reason why companies are moving forward with layoff plans is because of the high risk of recession.”

She said the U.S. economy could soon buckle under the weight of growing interest rates.