July 25, 2022: This week, it really is the economy, stupid
If there\u2019s one thing the White House, economists and basically everyone who thinks about money can agree on, it\u2019s that this is going to be a big week for economic news.\xa0\n\u2014 On Tuesday, we get new consumer confidence numbers, a measure which has fallen for two consecutive months. Last month\u2019s report showed the Consumer Confidence Index at its lowest level since February 2021 and the Expectations Index \u2014 \u201cconsumers\u2019 short-term outlook for income, business, and labor market conditions,\u201d per the Conference Board \u2014 at its lowest level since 2013.\n\u2014 On Wednesday, the Fed will meet and make a decision on just how much to raise interest rates. After the most recent inflation numbers, most observers expect a hike of .75 percentage points. That would be the fourth rate increase this year.\n\u2014 On Thursday, the GDP numbers for the second quarter will drop, and economists expect they\u2019ll show a decline of 1% to 2%. It would be the second straight quarter of decline \u2014 which is often seen as signaling a recession.\xa0\nAnd Playbook's Eugene Daniels chats with POLITICO White House Bureau Chief Jonathan Lemire about his newest book, "The Big Lie."\nSubscribe to the POLITICO Playbook newsletter\nRaghu Manavalan is the Host of POLITICO's Playbook.Jenny Ament is the Executive Producer of POLITICO Audio.