Menzie Chinn, a professor of public affairs and economics at the University of Wisconsin, said, “People are maximally confused.”
To show how uncertainty plays out, Chinn gave an example of potential homebuyers: Lowering interest rates might entice them, but worries about a big drop in home prices over the next year — the kind that might arise from a recession — might scare them away.
“It’s better news, but washed out by this bad uncertainty,” Chinn said.