The US economy shows growing strain as payrolls fall by 92,000 and oil prices surge roughly 40 percent since the Iran war, prompting economists to warn of stagflation.The Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Commerce Department report weaker retail sales and an 8.4 percent plunge in existing home sales, while the Federal Reserve SLOOS finds banks tightening lending standards and demand for credit softening.Economists including
Don Rissmiller,
Ed Yardeni and
Mark Zandi raise odds of stagflation or recession while
Austan Goolsbee and
Peter Andersen debate how policy should respond to higher gasoline costs and slowing demand.