The ‘fear gauge’ used by Wall Street is down to lows we haven’t seen in 24 years, which leads to questions as what is the exact state of our economy?
Sam Rines, an economist and financial planner with Avalon Advisors here in Houston, says that index means we aren’t likely to see movement in either direction for the short term. But year to year, Rines says he likes what he sees.
“From last May until now it’s been pretty good, especially compared to the rest of the world,” Rines explained. “We’ve seen continued gains in employment.”
So how much credit does President Trump deserve for this? Rines says he's off to a good start, but it's really hard to say right now.
“So far there’s been relatively little impact from many of the promises the Trump campaign made. Lower regulations and lower taxes would all be very positive for the economy,” Rines said, adding that if things are to continue, we need to see things like his tax reform plan go from just being a proposal, to being put into place.