NORTHAMPTON, Mass. (WWLP) – Stocks have been on a losing streak lately because of ongoing fears about a possible recession.

The S&P 500 falling for a fourth straight day Tuesday, down 3.2% this week. Experts telling NBC news that inflation and its impact on the consumer may derail the economy and cause a mild or hard recession.

22News spoke with a local business about picking up the pieces after the COVID-19 pandemic took a huge toll on the economy. The store manager told us that business has been steady.

“Well it was certainly a difficult time,” Sara Grillo of The Blue Marble in Northampton recalled. “It was hard to keep business going without people being physically in the store. We did take some different measure and had to get creative, but now that everybody is back, I think they are really enjoying shopping in person.”

The Federal Reserve will meet next week to decide whether to hike up interest rates once again to combat inflation.