Economists eyeing mid-June for post pandemic rebound

BERKELEY, Calif. - On Wednesday, the stock markets' second day of declines over inflation concerns came as the Bureau of Labor Statistics showed year-to-year consumer prices increased by 4.2%in April compared to 2.6% in March.

"I think the stock market at this point is much more worried about inflation than the federal reserve," said Jim Wilcox, a U.C, Berkeley Haas Business School professor and former economist with the Federal Reserve.

"The Fed has correctly said that we should expect a small inflation bump because the economy and its prices would bounce back a little bit once we started to reopen," said Wilcox.

Reopening after a year of pandemic closures, many people and places are trying to adjust and figure out what an economic rebound will look like.

"Definitely a little bit tougher in the first month when we opened to hire people because people have gotten used to staying home to be safe," said George Luong, General Manager of the Parkside Grill in Concord.

"If you were able to stay open during the pandemic, it's going to be a real renaissance year for bars and restaurants in general," said Janelle Davis, a bartender at the Parkside Grill in Concord who says she just got hired last month and feels optimistic.

Wilcox says as people return to work and the supply of goods increases, the fundamental economics don't point to runaway inflation, or a Fed increase in interest rates.

"I think we can expect almost all interest rates to remain in the range they've been in the last few months," said Wilcox.

Low interest rates could help anyone looking to buy a house, big items such as a car, or pay off debt.

"The economy as a whole should perform very strongly for the rest of this year," said Wilcox.

"We work seven days a week right now," said Frescia Y. Ramos Bellido who is a tax preparer and owner of FYRB tax services in Concord.

She says they've had a wave of new clients who suffered during the pandemic and now need help filing taxes and planning ahead with so many changes such as stimulus checks, job changes or job losses.

"They're got very difficult times right now.  More taxpayers they don't have jobs at this moment," said Ramos Bellido.

Ramos Bellido says people who've had big changes should make sure to ask for help. She says if people need more time, they need to file an extension before Tax Day next Monday May 17th.