Partial closures at key U.S.-Mexico border crossings could cost billions in trade and are causing chaos and political fallout.
The big picture: A massive influx of immigrants at the southern border has led U.S. Customs and Border Protection to divert resources from busy crossings in Arizona and Texas.
A late Super Saturday — the last Saturday before Christmas — is projected to be the second-busiest shopping day of the year, according to Sensormatic Solutions' holiday predictions.
Why it matters: Dec. 23 is both "Christmas Eve eve" and Super Saturday this year, which is expected to drive shoppers to stores and malls to buy last-minute gifts in person.
The Federal Reserve's go-to inflation index declined 0.1% in November, the first monthly drop in overall prices by this measure in over three years.
Why it matters: The data from the Commerce Department is the freshest sign of cooling inflation that came alongside solid consumer spending and rising income.
Call it the Big Whiff — last year at this time, most economists, many journalists and a lot of regular folks felt certain that the U.S. was headed into recession.
Why it matters: We weren't. The failure of the U.S. economy to, well, fail in 2023 was one of the year's biggest and happiest surprises, the top of a list of horribles that failed to materialize.
Wells Fargo employees in its Albuquerque, New Mexico, branch voted to unionize Wednesday.
Why it matters: They are the first big bank workers to unionize in the U.S. — a move that reflects the growing momentum of unions across industries in recent months.
Solid growth. Jobs aplenty. Falling inflation. Low recession odds. That, in nine words, is the Axios Macro Consensus — what readers expect to see in the year ahead.
Why it matters: To the degree your outlook is shared by other consumers and business decision-makers, it bodes well for the economy. Much of last year's apprehension has evaporated this time around.
Toyota announced it is recalling roughly 1 million vehicles because of potential issues with sensors that allow airbags to deploy correctly.
Why it matters: It's the latest major recall for the automaker, which announced a recall of over 1.85 million RAV4 sports utility vehicles in November because of fire risks associated with batteries.
The misery index — the sum of the unemployment rate and the inflation rate — is ending 2023 at 6.8%. That's its lowest point since the pandemic hit in March 2020 and well below the 8.3% average for the century to date.
Why it matters: Unemployment and inflation are the two great causes of real (rather than merely vibes-based) economic misery.
