US Economics Update Student debt forgiveness would do little for economy Even if a significant share of the $1.6trn of student loan debt owed to the Federal government was forgiven, it would provide only a limited boost to activity while driving a potentially sizable... 18th February 2021 · 3 mins read
US Economics Update Monetary Indicators Monitor (Jan.) The continued surge in growth of narrow measures of the money supply underline that the economy is awash with liquidity, but that will not trigger a surge in price inflation when growth in the broader... 16th February 2021 · 3 mins read
US Economics Update Surveys paint more optimistic picture of labour market The latest NFIB and JOLT surveys suggest that labour market conditions remain stronger than the headline data imply and add to the evidence that inflation will rebound this year. 9th February 2021 · 2 mins read
US Economics Update Is unemployment higher than the headline data imply? Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s claim that the ‘true’ unemployment rate is still close to 10% only makes sense if the four million workers who left the labour force last year will return. It’s still too... 4th February 2021 · 3 mins read
US Economics Update Easing credit standards to support consumer recovery The Fed’s Senior Loan Officer Survey reveals that access to credit is improving for consumers, which will support an acceleration in consumption growth this year. 2nd February 2021 · 2 mins read
US Economics Update Fed’s Powell strikes dovish tone despite vaccines The Fed acknowledged in its post-FOMC meeting statement today that the economic recovery weakened in the final couple of months of last year, but balanced that near-term pessimism with greater... 27th January 2021 · 3 mins read
US Economics Update Fed will be reassured by rising inflation expectations The rebound in market-based inflation compensation measures will not alarm the Fed since expectations are still relatively muted. Instead, Fed officials are more likely to view the rise as a welcome... 26th January 2021 · 2 mins read
US Economics Update Monetary Indicators Monitor (Dec.) The surge in narrow money growth is entirely due to regulatory changes and a substitution out of savings accounts due to low interest rates. Our measure of M3 shows broad money growth has slowed... 20th January 2021 · 3 mins read
US Economics Update Surveys point to rising price pressures The plunge in small business optimism in December is mostly noise related to the election, but the clear signal from both the NFIB and JOLT surveys out today is that inflationary pressures appear to... 12th January 2021 · 2 mins read
US Economics Update Democrats’ Senate wins not a gamechanger With Democrats picking up both Georgia Senate seats in yesterday’s run-off elections, President-elect Joe Biden will have a much easier time confirming his picks for cabinet positions and the chances... 6th January 2021 · 4 mins read
US Economics Update Fiscal boost not as large as headline figures suggest The $900bn fiscal relief deal agreed by Congress won’t represent as big a fiscal expansion as the headline figures suggest as it appears to mostly involve recycling the unused funding from previous... 22nd December 2020 · 3 mins read
US Economics Update Stimulus another reason for optimism about 2021 The additional $900bn stimulus that looks likely to be passed by Congress within the next day or two means that we are raising our GDP growth forecast for 2021 to 5.5%, from 5.0%. 21st December 2020 · 3 mins read
US Economics Update Fed tweaks its forward guidance The Fed tweaked the guidance for its asset purchases in the statement issued after the conclusion of today's FOMC meeting, with the new language implying those purchases could continue for longer than... 16th December 2020 · 3 mins read
US Economics Update State & local budget hit not as bad as feared The relative resilience of state & local government tax revenues during the pandemic means that the overall budget shortfalls facing those governments are likely to be smaller than many had feared... 14th December 2020 · 4 mins read
US Economics Update New GDP forecasts: weak end to 2020, better 2021 The recent surge in coronavirus infections means that economic growth will be slower than we previously assumed in both the fourth quarter and the first quarter of next year. As the associated... 30th November 2020 · 3 mins read
US Economics Update Household saving could remain permanently elevated The huge amount of personal savings built up during the pandemic, if unleashed, represents perhaps the biggest upside risk to the economy over the coming year or two. But even once the spread of the... 24th November 2020 · 4 mins read
