AUGUST 2, 2023 – As I predicted at the beginning of the year, by this Summer the broken record recession mongers would start throwing in the towel and admit there will be no recession this year. The first of many apologies comes from BofA.
Shalom,
The Mann
January 13, 2023 – Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan said Friday the bank is preparing for a potential recession this year, including the possibility of a sharper downturn where unemployment climbs rapidly.
“Our baseline scenario contemplates a mild recession,” he said during a call with investors. “But we also add to that a downside scenario, and what this results in is 95% of our reserve methodology is weighted toward a recessionary environment in 2023.”
In the case of a more severe recession, Moynihan said the second-largest U.S. bank anticipates the jobless rate will climb to 5.5% in 2023 and remain at 5% or higher through 2024.
August 2, 2023 – (Bloomberg) — Economists at Bank of America Corp. scrapped their forecast for a recession in the US, becoming the first large Wall Street bank to officially reverse its call amid growing optimism about the economic outlook.
“Recent incoming data has made us reassess our prior view that a mild recession in 2024 is the most likely outcome for the US economy,” BofA economists, led by Michael Gapen, wrote in a note to clients on Wednesday.
“Growth in economic activity over the past three quarters has averaged 2.3%, the unemployment rate has remained near all-time lows, and wage and price pressures are moving in the right direction, albeit gradually,” they wrote.