All signs continue pointing toward cooling inflation in the American economy.

The producer price index, which measures selling prices that producers get for goods and services, barely rose in July ... another indicator showing stabilizing prices and slowing inflation.

? So how did we get here after four years of seemingly constant disruptions and weirdness in the economy?

KNX News called up Tom Barkin, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, for his perspective.  He tells us the COVID pandemic will go down as one of the most unique shocks to our economy that we've ever seen.

Barkin says one way to gauge a return to normalcy has been the return of pickier consumers.

Does a president of a Federal Reserve Bank still worry about impending recessions?  Barkin says no, he's confident that we're in pretty good shape ... but the  next economic shock is always lurking around the corner.

A new Federal Reserve report out this week forecasts Americans will continue to reign back in their spending in 2025.