Economics

Damaged buildings, thousands of trees lost, and a $6 million cleanup faced Augusta University one year ago. Hurricane Helene devastated parts of the CSRA as a full-strength hurricane, something the region had never experienced. The one-year anniversary is this Saturday. There are still areas of destruction and scars marking where trees and buildings once stood, but there are also signs of recovery. At the Summerville campus of Augusta University (AU), damaged roofs and facades have been repaired, but the decorative ironwork at the main entrance off of Walton Way is

The Federal Open Market Committee of the Federal Reserve (Fed) meets tomorrow and Wednesday to determine interest rates. Given recent economic news, most analysts expect the Fed to cut interest rates. The Fed has a dual mandate to ensure stable prices and maximum employment. In this respect, it is different than many other central banks, who are generally only tasked with keeping inflation low. To make the Fed’s task more difficult, they only have one tool, interest rates, to accomplish these dual goals. When you hold a hammer, everything looks

The Augusta Labor Market Index remained unchanged in July from June. It is 1.0 percent higher than a year ago. As previously reported in this column, employment fell in July, but other measures of labor market activity remained strong. Average weekly earnings rose by 2.6 percent ($30.70) over the month, and average weekly hours worked increased by 36 minutes. The unemployment rate remained at 4.2% and the labor force fell by just 0.1 percent. Since the beginning of the year, the Augusta LMI has increased by 0.5 percent, faster than