Massachusetts

The US economy is wonky right now. How about Massachusetts? – The Boston Globe

Published

2 years ago

August 10, 2024

The US economy is wonky right now. How about Massachusetts? – The Boston Globe

With that in mind, here are four graphs that capture the state of markets, jobs, industry, and cost-of-living in the US, Massachusetts, and Greater Boston.

Stocks

First things first: Wall Street’s mini-meltdown on Aug. 5 hit the Nasdaq Composite — a collection of tech-focused companies — particularly hard, with the index slipping 3.4 percent from the previous business day. This is likely due to existing anxieties about whether stocks in this sector have been bullishly overvalued by the AI boom.

The Dow Jones industrial average and the Standard & Poor’s 500 indexes also experienced routs, though less dramatic (2.6 percent and 3 percent, respectively).

The Massachusetts economy — while relatively strong — is heavy on tech and biotech, so it landed somewhere in the middle. On Monday, the closing price of the Boston Globe’s index, which tracks 25 publicly traded companies in the Bay State, sank 2.9 percent.

But, like, the other indexes, it was back in recovery mode by Tuesday, a rally that continued — with some stops and starts — through the week.

Employment

A big concern right now among investors is the job market, considered one of the strongest indicators of an impending recession.

The US added a relatively meager 114,000 jobs in July. State-specific payroll data for July won’t be released until later this month. But by the latest measures, Massachusetts companies are very much in hiring mode.

After stumbling earlier this year, Massachusetts employers added 19,000 jobs in June, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics — an uptick of 0.51 percent from May. By comparison, the US’s bump from May to June was just 0.11 percent.

GDP

Growth in Massachusetts’ gross domestic product — the total value of all produced goods and services — outran that of the US in the second quarter of 2024, ticking up by an annualized rate of 3.3 percent from the first quarter, according to MassBenchmarks, an economic group that analyzes the state. The last time that happened was a year ago, in the second quarter of 2023.

MassBenchmarks has some theories for why that is. “In Massachusetts, this increase in growth was supported by moderate payroll employment growth, high withholding and sales taxes — which imply high wage and salary income and spending growth, low unemployment rates, and a growing labor force,” the group said in a report.

Inflation/cost-of-living

If there’s one area where Boston reliably outpaces the rest of the country, it’s the cost of living. Recent data show that’s not changing.

After months of year-over-year inflation growth in the Boston metro area staying in the 2 percent range, it began to edge up again earlier this year. The last reported measure showed prices 4 percent higher in May 2024 than they were in May 2023, compared to 3.3 percent higher for the US. The increase in Boston was primarily driven — no surprise — by exorbitant shelter costs.

It remains to be seen whether prices in Boston have abated at all over the summer; the next Consumer Price Index for the metro area is due to be released later this month.

Dana Gerber can be reached at dana.gerber@globe.com. Follow her @danagerber6.

Source link

Massachusetts

How will the Iran war impact gas prices in Massachusetts?

Published

10 hours ago

March 2, 2026

Press Room

How will the Iran war impact gas prices in Massachusetts?

With a widening conflict in the Middle East after the American and Israeli attack on Iran Saturday, global markets are bracing for a shakeup in the energy supply chain.

So, here at home, what can consumers expect at the gas pump?

An increase in oil prices is almost always followed by an increase in gas prices. And the oil market has already reacted to the war. NBC News reported on Sunday that U.S. crude oil initially spiked more than 10%, while Brent, the international oil benchmark, rose as much as 13%.

Early Monday morning, reports were coming in of black smoke rising from the U.S. embassy in Kuwait City.

While Iran’s oil reserves supply less than an estimated 5% of global production, the main concern is the Strait of Hormuz. This maritime passageway borders Iran at the bottleneck of the Persian Gulf, and more than 20% of the world’s oil passes through. If Iran closes or restricts Hormuz, the oil market could face severe disruptions.

Gas prices rise about 2.5 cents for every dollar increase in crude oil prices. As of Sunday, U.S. crude oil prices had already increased by nearly $5 a barrel.

“I fully expect that by Monday night, you could credibly say that gas prices are being impacted by oil prices having gone up,” GasBuddy analyst Patrick De Haan told NBC News.

GasBuddy characterizes their expectations for price increases as “incremental” rather than “explosive”. The group said to anticipate a potential 10-15 cent increase over the next couple of weeks.

Source link

Massachusetts

Body camera video shows Massachusetts police officer save 78-year-old man from burning truck – East Idaho News

Published

23 hours ago

March 2, 2026

Press Room

Body camera video shows Massachusetts police officer save 78-year-old man from burning truck – East Idaho News

EASTON, Mass. (WBZ) — Police body camera video shows an Easton, Massachusetts, officer rescuing a 78-year-old Raynham man from a burning car on Friday morning.

A Mack dump truck was experiencing problems on the side of Turnpike Street just after 2 a.m. when a Ford pickup truck struck the back of it, according to police.

The pickup truck then became stuck under the dump truck, trapping the driver, Francis Leverone, inside. A Toyota Camry then hit the back of the pickup truck and caught fire, police said.

Easton police officer Dean Soucie arrived at the crash and saw that the two vehicles were on fire. Video shows Soucie rushing over before breaking the driver’s side window and then, with the help of the two witnesses, freeing Leverone from the pickup truck. Soucie said he was confused but conscious.

“As I reached inside the vehicle, one of the passersby — he actually jumped into the cab of the truck, and he helped me free the individual,” Soucie said.

They then carried the driver to safety.

Leverone was taken to a nearby hospital before being transferred to a Boston hospital. He received serious but non-life-threatening injuries.

No one else was injured in the crash.

Dee Leverone told WBZ her husband is doing OK. “I’m just thankful for the people that got him out,” she said. “Very thankful.”

After watching the police body-cam video on the news she said, “I was shocked, I was like ‘Oh my God!’ I just couldn’t believe it. His truck is like melted.”

She says she realized that something was wrong last night when her husband never made it home from work.

“I kept trying to call him and call him, and I finally got a hold of him at like 4:30 a.m., and he was at (Good Samaritan Hospital) and he told me he’s gotten in an accident,” Dee said.

She says he’s recovering at the Boston Medical Center and being treated for a dislocated hip.

“He’s a trooper,” Dee said. “He’s a strong man — and you know he’s 78, but you know he’s a toughie. He definitely is a toughie.”

Soucie commended the help of the two witnesses and said that before he arrived at the crash, they had attempted to put out the flames with a fire extinguisher and removed a gasoline tank from the pickup truck before it could ignite.

“They jumped into action like it was nothing,” Soucie said. “Those two individuals were absolutely awesome.”

Easton Police Chief Keith Boone said that he is “extremely proud” of Soucie and the witnesses.

“He saved a life last night,” Chief Boone said. “He is an exemplary police officer and this is just one example. I think he’s a hero.”

Turnpike Street was closed for several hours following the crash. Easton Police are investigating.