John Stankey of AT&T Inc (NYSE:T) is taking a cautious position regarding the short-term forecast for the economy, which is continuing to struggle with high inflation levels and an uptick in the number of layoffs.
When asked if the economy of the United States feels like it is entering a recession, Stankey responded by saying, “It’s hard to say,” while speaking at the Goldman Sachs Communacopia + Technology Conference on Yahoo Finance Live.
“If I were to tell you right now, when you look at the data that are coming in on inflation, it is hard to imagine that it is not going to have some impact at some time. Even if we are fortunate enough to avoid a full-blown recession, the issue that needs to be asked is, “Is the growth robust enough to displace the current levels of inflation genuinely?” And the atmosphere is becoming increasingly characterized by stagflation. But I believe that we won’t really know the outcome of that game until the fourth quarter or the first quarter of the following year, and even then, it might not be apparent, “he remarked.
As October approaches, with the prospect of additional growth-stunting rate hikes from the Federal Reserve, Stankey is not the only person to present a more pessimistic outlook on the state of the economy.
AT&T Inc GDP Prediction
This Thursday, the head economist at Goldman Sachs, Jan Hatzius, lowered his GDP prediction for 2023 to 1.1%. Previously, Hatzius had set his sights on a growth rate of 1.5%.
As a result of the Federal Reserve’s efforts to reduce inflation and tighten financial conditions, Hatzius forecasts that growth and employment prospects will be “slightly poorer” in the coming year.
The reduction in GDP predicted by the well-respected economist comes right on the heels of headline-grabbing financial warnings issued by FedEx and Ford, both of which blamed the current uncertain economic climate.
Recent developments in AT&T Inc (NYSE:T) shed light on the economic strains that are being felt by households.
The stock of the multinational telecommunications corporation had a decline of 7% on July 21, following the disclosure by the firm in its earnings report for the second quarter that customers were paying their bills around two days later than the patterns witnessed in the preceding year. Because of this, AT&T Inc (NYSE:T) revised its outlook for the year’s free cash flow by $2 billion.
Stankey stated during an interview on Yahoo Finance Live that “we haven’t observed any changes in the pattern.” “There hasn’t been any additional deterioration, and to tell you the truth, we wouldn’t expect there to be.”
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Author Valerie Remorosa 
