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July 25, 2022 • Issue 22:07:02

Getting a handle on an

economy in transition

"The first half of 2022 has really tested business leaders
with pricing pressure and increased interest rates, on
top of supply chain and labor-related issues they were
already facing," said Ginger Chambless, head of research at
JPMorgan Chase commercial banking. "While it's surprising
to see how drastically sentiment has shifted, it is important
to note that business leaders are still mostly upbeat when
it comes to their companies and areas that they can more
directly control." Seven in 10 respondents expressed
confidence in their own companies' performance, and 55
percent were upbeat about their industry's performance.

A 2022 business barometer report, published in June 2022
by Portland, Ore.-based Umpqua Bank, offers a similar
assessment. "While last year's surging economic optimism
has diminished, businesses of all sizes remain confident
in their own prospects for growth," wrote Tory Nixon,
Umpqua Bank's president.
By Patti Murphy
The National Federation of Small Businesses reported on
.S. businesses are operating in a vastly different July 12 that economic optimism among small business
economy than they did just a year ago. But ask owners had hit an all-time low, with the net percent of
a handful of economists what this means for owners who expected real sales to grow falling 13 points
U businesses and consumers and you are apt to in May. Small businesses are also raising prices at levels
get a handful of different answers. not seen since the early 1980s, when prices were rising at
double digit rates, the NFIB said.
The inflation rate surged to 9.1 percent in June, according
to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. This is higher than the "As inflation continues to dominate business decisions,
8.6 percent logged in May and the highest rate recorded in small business owners' expectations for better business
40 years. On top of that, interest rates are climbing as the conditions have reached a new low," said NFIB Chief
Federal Reserve seeks to dampen inflation, and supply chain Economist Bill Dunkelberg.
bottlenecks and labor shortages continue to plague many
businesses. This has caused significant consternation.

According to a recent survey conducted by JPMorgan Contributed articles inside by:
Chase, midsize businesses across the United States are
increasingly cautious in their economic outlooks. The
bank's 2022 business leaders outlook pulse surveyed Natasa Cvijanovic .................................................................................28
leaders at over 1,500 midsize businesses in June and found Nicholas Cucci ........................................................................................30
only 19 percent are optimistic about the national economy
for the year ahead, down from 75 percent a year ago. Ken Musante ..........................................................................................32

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