Hi everyone! Welcome back to Trendlines Weekly. If you’d like you can read this on the website.
Trend-based news
— Ghost guns are being used in more crimes. Currently the weapons are untraceable. Their numbers quadrupled from 2016 to 2020 and they are now being used in school shootings. Currently they are not classified as firearms because of how they are manufactured, and thus cannot even be registered.
There is an existing patchwork of state and municipal laws in some states designed to deal with the problem, but action at the federal level would be most effective. A proposal from the Justice department would change the parts definition so they could be regulated.
— Going from a "war on Covid" to "the new normal"? National Covid-19 coordinator Jeff Zients and his deputy Natalie Quillian will both leave the White House this April. They will be replaced by Dr. Ashish Jha, dean of the Brown University School of Public Health.
The implication is that the “war” on Covid-19 is now over and that the federal government is treating the declining number of cases and deaths across most of the country as a “new normal” where Covid-19 is managed from here on, rather than being completely eliminated.
Data points
— Interest rates get a bump. The Federal Reserve raised interest rates for the first time since 2018. “Additional rate hikes are likely to follow in the coming months”, the story says. Here is what it might mean for you.
— More than half of U.S. abortions are via medication. This is an up to date summary of proposed restrictions on abortion in the U.S. Over 500 restrictions have been introduced in state legislatures this year.
— Residential housing activity. The latest report on housing permits, starts and completions. February permits fell 1.9 percent from January but are up 7.7 percent from last February. Starts were up 6.8 percent from last month and up a whopping 22 percent from last year. Completions were up 5.9 percent from January but down 2.8 percent from last February.
— American's views on Ukraine and Russia. A new poll says most favor additional help for Ukraine, but don’t want to get directly involved with American troops.
— GDP increased 7 percent last quarter. The fourth quarter of 2021 showed continuing economic recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic. See the chart below.
— People still aren't flying like they used to. U.S. airline passengers are still down by about a third compared to before the Covid-19 pandemic.
— Millennials spent less time providing care than Gen-X. Declining U.S. birth rates have changed the way generations spend time on a daily basis. Millennials, who are having fewer children than members of Generation X did, are now spending more time caring for pets and less time caring for children and other people.
Thanks for reading, everyone! I’ll see you next time.