Of course, the “topic du jour” is inflation. At the mid-point of the pandemic, 12 to 18 months ago, there were signs that inflation was permeating the economy. But other signals suggested the inflationary signs were just part of coming out of the pandemic, and the U.S. economy would be getting back to normal soon enough – hence the conclusion, inflation is “transitory.” We now know that inflation has been “sticky,” more broad-based, and, possibly, more permanent. Beating back inflation is now the Federal Reserve’s “Job #1,” but there could be widespread consequences – namely, recession.
Inflation, recession, and the outlook for the economy at-large, as well as the aviation ecosystem, were the topics of ARRA’s August Forum with Ajay Thomas, Senior Managing Director and National Head of Public Finance for FHN Financial. We talked with Ajay about the state of financial markets, the economy, Federal Reserve policies, and how public finance markets view airports and concessions. Despite the various challenges of ongoing pandemic, supply chains, labor shortages, inflationary pressures, and a likely recession, Ajay observes the aviation ecosystem is resilient. The good news: although our industry is not yet recovered, he sees positive trends and a strong foundation to recover from. Here are three Forum takeaways:
These are just three important takeaways. We encourage you to watch the replay below. And see Ajay’s full slide deck here – there is much informative and useful data. |
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