Harlem Bespoke: We were checking out some of the carved townhouse elements in the Hamilton Heights Historic District and noticed one very decorative Star of David just around the corner from Convent Avenue. This might be a Christian reference or another possibility could be that one of the builders had been Jewish during this time period when brownstones started to appear all over the former countryside of Harlem. Regardless of the reason, this star with a spring floral motif was a lovely discovery and is rarely found outside of church or temple architecture uptown.
Harlem Bespoke: Those who are interested in renting, buying or selling in Harlem should check out the Bespoke Listings page which feature the top experts in Harlem and the uptown market. Our sponsors are some of the best in the field and cover a wide range of price points within the upper Manhattan market: LINK
Thursday, May 4th, 6:00PM-9:00PM, Cocktails & Culture: Spring Jazz at Museum of the City of New York, 104th Street and Fifth Avenue. Buy a ticket for this after hours mixer and enjoy cocktails with live jazz in the rotunda with guitarist Miguel Colombet and his quartet. Enjoy classic margaritas and other libations from the MCNY Bar, plus delicious light bites by UGC eats! Museum galleries will be open during the event so everyone can check out the latest exhibit New York Now: Home. Online tickets now available: LINK
Harlem Bespoke: Another reason to drop by Ginjan Cafe on 125th Street at Park Avenue is the fantastic new African dishes being featured as a special daily. We dropped by earlier in the week and Yassa chicken was being served up in in a seasoned rice bowl or delicious wraps. We love the food at Teranga further south but now Ginjan might just be offering something even better each day.
Our personal view of bland wraps also changed because of this experience since the crispy grilled version found here is truly next level.
Everything was so amazing with abundant flavors and this was easily the best quick lunch we had had in the new year. There are also vegetarian versions of the daily dish so those who are going meatless can also enjoy the new alternating menu items. Ginjan Cafe is also the first business to set up at the restored Corn Exchange Building which is one of the few official local landmarks on Harlem’s main commercial boulevard. More about the local coffeeshop startup can be found in our past post: LINK
Harlem’s The Apollo today announced this year’s Spring Benefit honorees. The historic organization’s largest annual fundraising event will return on Monday, June 12, 2023, themed “The Next Movement”. The celebratory benefit concert will honor The Apollo’s President and CEO Jonelle Procope as her twenty-year tenure comes to a close. Sean “Diddy” Combs, one of the most successful entrepreneurs and cultural icons of all…
Summer is a great time for outdoor activities as you needn’t worry about freezing temperatures. Besides feeling inspired to jump out of bed and hit the gym, you can get a fair dose of relaxation during weekend trips and beach vacations. However, research suggests that high temperatures can elevate anxiety levels. You heard right- you…
WASHINGTON (AP) — The government’s report Thursday that the economy grew at a 1.1% annual rate last quarter signaled that one of the most-anticipated recessions in recent U.S. history has yet to arrive. Many economists, though, still expect a recession to hit as soon as the current April-June quarter — or soon thereafter.
The economy’s expansion in the first three months of the year was driven mostly by healthy consumer spending, yet shoppers turned more cautious toward the end of the quarter. Businesses also cut their spending on equipment, a trend that has continued.
The list of obstacles the economy faces keeps growing. The Federal Reserve has raised its benchmark interest rate nine times in the past year to the highest level in 17 years, thereby elevating the cost of borrowing for consumers and businesses. Inflation has eased slowly but steadily in response. Yet price increases are still persistently high.
And last month the collapse of two large banks resulted in a whole new threat: A pullback in lending by the financial system that could weaken growth even further. A report on business conditions by the Fed this month found that banks were tightening credit to preserve capital, which makes it harder for companies to borrow and expand. Fed economists are forecasting a “mild recession” for later this year.
Still, there are reasons to expect that a recession, if it does come, will prove to be a comparatively mild one. Many employers, having struggled to hire after huge layoffs during the pandemic, may decide to retain most of their workforces even in a shrinking economy.
Six months of economic decline are a long-held informal definition of a recession. Yet nothing is simple in a post-pandemic economy in which growth was negative in the first half of last year but the job market remained robust, with ultra-low unemployment and healthy levels of hiring.
Fed officials have made clear they’re willing to tip the economy into a recession if necessary to defeat high inflation, and most economists believe them.
So what is the likelihood of a recession? Here are some questions and answers:
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WHY DO MANY ECONOMISTS FORESEE A RECESSION?
They expect the Fed’s aggressive rate hikes and high inflation to overwhelm consumers and businesses, forcing them to significantly slow their spending and investment. Businesses will likely also have to cut jobs, causing spending to fall further.
Consumers have so far proved resilient in the face of higher rates and rising prices. Still, there are signs that their sturdiness is starting to crack.
Retail sales have dropped for two straight months. The Fed’s so-called beige book, a collection of anecdotal reports from businesses around the country, shows that retailers are increasingly seeing consumers resist higher prices.
Credit card debt is also rising, evidence that Americans are having to borrow more to maintain their spending levels, a trend that probably isn’t sustainable.
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WHAT WOULD BE SOME SIGNS THAT A RECESSION MIGHT HAVE BEGUN?
The clearest signal would be a steady rise in job losses and a surge in unemployment. Claudia Sahm, an economist and former Fed staff member, has noted that since World War II, an increase in the unemployment rate of a half-percentage point over several months has always signaled the start of a recession.
Many economists monitor the number of people who seek unemployment benefits each week, a gauge that indicates whether layoffs are worsening. Weekly applications for jobless aid have been creeping higher as a range of companies, from Facebook’s parent company Meta to the industrial conglomerate 3M to the ride-hailing company Lyft, have announced layoffs.
Still, employers added a solid 236,000 jobs in March, and the unemployment rate slipped to 3.5%, near a half-century low, from 3.6%.
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ANY OTHER SIGNALS TO WATCH FOR?
Economists monitor changes in the interest payments, or yields, on different bonds for a recession signal known as an “inverted yield curve.” This occurs when the yield on the 10-year Treasury falls below the yield on a short-term Treasury, like the three-month T-bill. That is unusual. Normally, longer-term bonds pay investors a richer yield in exchange for tying up their money for a longer period.
Inverted yield curves generally mean that investors foresee a recession that will compel the Fed to slash rates. Inverted curves often predate recessions. Still, it can take 18 to 24 months for a downturn to arrive after the yield curve inverts.
Ever since last July, the yield on the two-year Treasury note has exceeded the 10-year yield, suggesting that markets expect a recession soon. And the three-month yield has also risen far above the 10-year, an inversion that has an even better track record at predicting recessions.
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WHO DECIDES WHEN A RECESSION HAS STARTED?
Recessions are officially declared by the obscure-sounding National Bureau of Economic Research, a group of economists whose Business Cycle Dating Committee defines a recession as “a significant decline in economic activity that is spread across the economy and lasts more than a few months.”
The committee considers trends in hiring. It also assesses many other data points, including gauges of income, employment, inflation-adjusted spending, retail sales and factory output. It assigns heavy weight to a measure of inflation-adjusted income that excludes government support payments like Social Security.
Yet the NBER typically doesn’t declare a recession until well after one has begun, sometimes for up to a year.
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DOES HIGH INFLATION TYPICALLY LEAD TO A RECESSION?
Not always. Inflation reached 4.7% in 2006 — at that point the highest level in 15 years — without causing a downturn. (The 2008-2009 recession that followed was caused by the bursting of the housing bubble).
But when inflation gets as high as it did last year — it reached a 40-year peak of 9.1% in June — a recession becomes increasingly likely.
That’s for two reasons: First, the Fed will sharply raise borrowing costs when inflation gets that high. Higher rates then drag down the economy as consumers become less able to afford homes, cars and other major purchases.
High inflation also distorts the economy on its own. Consumer spending, adjusted for inflation, weakens. And businesses grow uncertain about the economic outlook. Many of them pull back on their expansion plans and stop hiring. This can lead to higher unemployment as some people choose to leave jobs and aren’t replaced.
When it comes to entertaining friends, we all want our guests to leave with a lasting impression that they had an unforgettable time. An important part of being a great host is planning the right food for your occasion – something memorable and delicious! If you’re looking for easy yet impressive food ideas to wow…
WASHINGTON (AP) — A Fugees rapper accused in multimillion-dollar political conspiracies spanning two presidencies was convicted Wednesday after a trial that included testimony ranging from actor Leonardo DiCaprio to former U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions.
Prakazrel “Pras” Michel was accused of funneling money from a now-fugitive Malaysian financer through straw donors to Barack Obama’s 2012 reelection campaign, then trying to squelch a Justice Department investigation and influence an extradition case on behalf of China under the Trump administration.
A jury in Washington, D.C., federal court found him guilty of all 10 counts, including conspiracy and acting as an unregistered agent of a foreign government.
The defense argued the Grammy-winning rapper from the 1990s hip-hop group the Fugees simply wanted to make money and got bad legal advice as he reinvented himself in the world of politics.
Michel declined to comment after the verdict, but his attorney said he’s “extremely disappointed” in the outcome of the case and plans to appeal.
“This is not over,” attorney David Kenner said. “I remain very, very confident we will ultimately prevail.”
Michel first met Malaysian financer Low Taek Jho in 2006, when the businessman usually known as Jho Low was dropping huge sums of money and hobnobbing with the likes of Paris Hilton. Low helped finance Hollywood films, including “The Wolf of Wall Street.” DiCaprio testified Low had appeared to him as a legitimate businessman and had mentioned wanting to donate to Obama’s campaign.
Michel also testified in his own defense. He said Low wanted a picture with Obama in 2012 and was willing to pay millions of dollars to get it. Michel agreed to help and used some of the money he got to pay for friends to attend fundraising events. No one had ever told him that was illegal, he said.
Prosecutors said Michel was donating the money on Low’s behalf, and later tried to lean on the straw donors with texts from burner phones to keep them from talking to investigators.
After the election of Donald Trump, prosecutors say Michel again took millions to halt an investigation into allegations Low masterminded a money laundering and bribery scheme that pilfered billions from the Malaysian state investment fund known as 1MDB. Low is now an international fugitive and has maintained his innocence.
Michel also got paid to try and persuade the U.S. to extradite back to China a government critic suspected of crimes there without registering as a foreign agent, prosecutors said.
On that charge, the defense pointed to testimony from Sessions, who was Trump’s top law enforcement officer until he resigned in 2018. Sessions said he’d been aware the Chinese government wanted the extradition but didn’t know Michel. The rapper’s ultimately futile efforts to arrange a meeting on the topic didn’t seem improper, the former attorney general said.
Applications for unemployment benefits in the U.S. fell last week as the labor market continues to show strength despite some weakness in other parts of the economy.
The number of Americans filing for jobless claims for the week ending April 22 fell by 16,000 to 230,000, the Labor Department reported Thursday.
The four-week moving average of claims, which flattens some of the week-to-week volatility, fell by 6,000 to 236,000. At the start of the year, weekly claims were running around 200,000 and they have gradually moved higher.
Overall, 1.86 million people were collecting unemployment benefits the week that ended April 15, 3,000 fewer than the previous week.
The weekly claims numbers are a proxy for layoffs, and continue to show that American workers are enjoying unusual job security despite rising interest rates, economic uncertainty and fears of a looming recession.
The U.S. job market has remained healthy in spite of other weak spots in the broader economy. The unemployment rate came in at 3.5% last month, a tick above January’s half-century low 3.4%. Employers added 236,000 jobs in March, down from 472,000 in January and 326,000 in February, but still strong by historic standards.
Federal Reserve policymakers worry that a tight job market puts upward pressure on wages — and on overall prices. They’ve raised their benchmark interest rate nine times in just over a year. Inflation has edged lower since hitting four-decade highs last year. But March’s 5% year-over-year inflation rate remained well above the Fed’s 2% target.
The Fed is hoping to achieve a so-called soft landing — lowering growth just enough to bring inflation under control without causing a recession. Economists are skeptical, with many expecting the U.S. to enter a recession later this year.
On Thursday, the Commerce Department reported that U.S. economy slowed sharply from January through March, decelerating to just a 1.1% annual pace as higher interest rates hammered the housing market and businesses reduced inventories.
