A shopping spree
What would you do with an extra $600 million? In many cases, it may be inappropriate to call recently received stimulus checks extra, but it is clear they prompted recipients to spend.
As reported recently, retail sales jumped 5.29% in January, which was significantly better than the 1.2% expected. This report was well shy of the record-setting 17.7% in May 2020, but the report contained an important element when it noted, “More than 30% of the stimulus to Americans was banked, which points to stronger spending in the next few months, even without a third round of direct payments."
About the author
