Beyond the tech hype, how healthy is American business?
Most parts of the non-AI economy are doing surprisingly well
TEN MONTHS ago the spectre of recession haunted corporate America. Inflation was rampant, profits were depressed and the Federal Reserve was tightening the screws. Instead, inflation has moderated, the jobs market remains tight and recession is no longer a certainty. The prospect of an elusive “soft landing” has combined with hype over the productivity-boosting promise of artificial intelligence (AI) to give investors a fillip. This year the S&P 500 index of big firms is up by nearly a fifth.
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This article appeared in the Business section of the print edition under the headline “The view beyond the Valley”
From the August 12th 2023 edition
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