The regional economy isn’t in bad shape, but many folks say it’s hard to get by.

Fairly low unemployment, gradually slowing inflation and continued economic growth are all positive signals. But there are risks too.

Despite the anxiety, 2023 closed out pretty well for investors. But that hasn’t resulted in a unified sense of optimism.

For Ellen Zentner, chief U.S. economist at Morgan Stanley, the pandemic meant scrapping all the models and going back to the fundamentals.