For years following the inflationary spiral of the 1970s, the Federal Reserve’s biggest challenge was to convince the public and financial markets of its inflation-fighting credibility.

The core consumer price index edged up by a slim 0.1 percent in February and the increase over the past year actually slipped from 1.4 percent to 1.3 percent.

Once again we are reminded that the markets do not travel a straight line up. Stocks underwent a brutal tumble this week, the first back-to-back weekly decline in the S&P 500 index in four months.

Christmas came late this year for retailers, as Santa sled strait out of Washington and delivered checks to households in January, sending them on to a belated shopping spree.

As advertised, the economy is going through a rough patch before the widely expected improvement sets in.

As the curtain rises on 2021, a brighter script for the U.S. economy is about to be written. The final chapter could not come soon enough, as the gruesome health and political drama that wreaked havoc on the nation last year continues to unfold.

Along with pandemic-related headwinds, a severe nor’easter battered a major region of the economy this week, providing Covid-wary households with another excuse to avoid the perils of outdoor activity.