The day reserved for expressing gratitude and spending time with your family is finally upon us.
But let’s be real: Sometimes you leave Thanksgiving dinner grateful for the other 364 days you don’t have to explain to your aunt why you’re still single, or sit through your cousin’s explanation of why dogecoin is the future of currency, or listen to your uncle lay out his latest multi-level marketing scheme.
If there’s one thing your extended family loves more than your grandmother’s award-winning cranberry sauce, it’s throwing intrusive questions at you with such fervor and lack of personal boundaries that you have no choice but to salute their zeal.
Evading personal questions with economic answers
Here’s one tactic to survive the day: Steer the conversation toward your vast market knowledge and away from the state of your love life.
To help, the experts at Bank of America have drafted a plan to navigate your relatives' most pressing economic questions—with answers so robust your mom won’t be able to get a word in edgewise to ask you when she’s getting grandchildren.
"I love having all of you over, but food seems so expensive these days. Why do these economists keep saying inflation is down?"
BofA’s answer: "’Inflation’ usually refers to the increase in prices over the last year. Prices have increased a lot since 2019, but not much over the last year,” Bank of America economists wrote in a recent note.
Even though the Federal Reserve slashed rates in September and inflation has been steadily decelerating, shoppers everywhere are still feeling the burden of high prices. Big box retailers are cutting prices to woo back customers, but some, like Walmart, warn that Trump’s tariff policy might force them to raise prices once again.
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"Okay, but with such high prices, how come we haven't had a recession? Is it only a matter of time?"
BofA economists suggest tackling this one with: “Robust real income growth and fiscal support are among the factors that have kept the economy strong. 2025 should be another solid year.”
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell has managed to pull off a soft landing—keeping inflation down and still lowering interest rates, all while avoiding a recession. It helped that income has risen more quickly than inflation over the last two years, and that many Americans locked in cheap mortgage rates back when interest rates were still low.
Bank of America economists believe that there’s more good ahead than bad. “Real income growth should remain positive, household balance sheets are in good shape, and the rise in labor productivity should yield stronger wage and GDP growth than in the prior expansion.”
"I'm looking to buy a place but everything is so expensive. And mortgage rates aren't really going down either. When will this change?"
BofA: “Mortgage rates should decrease a little next year, but probably not too far below 6%. Housing affordability is likely to remain a problem.”
Even though the Fed lowered rates, mortgage rates have actually increased since September. But while they are expected to decline over the next few quarters, housing prices are still rising. There has been some good news though: Sales of new homes finally rose last month—their first annual increase in three years.
Wow! How have you developed all of this amazing expertise? You sound like a business school professor!
You: I read Brew Markets every day! You, too, can master the markets by subscribing at www.brewmarkets.com.—LB