US Economics Update Fed waits for the fog to clear The latest policy statement from the Fed today is remarkable for what it omits rather than includes. There is no explicit mention of the government shutdown or what impact it might have on the economy... 30th October 2013 · 1 min read
US Economics Update The truth probably lies in between the survey evidence Depending on which of the survey measures you believe, either the economic recovery is about to take off or fade away completely. The fundamentals, however, suggest that the truth probably lies... 30th October 2013 · 1 min read
US Economics Update Monetary Indicators Monitor (Sep 13.) Our M3* measure of broad money, which replicates the series discontinued by the Fed, continued to grow at a healthy annual rate of nearly 6% in September. But the longer the Fed delays the tapering of... 22nd October 2013 · 1 min read
US Economics Update Monetary policy now a slave to fiscal uncertainty Even if Congress manages to keep the Federal government open and raise the debt ceiling next year, the continuing fiscal uncertainty is only going to make the Fed's job that much harder. That fiscal... 18th October 2013 · 1 min read
US Economics Update Don't expect a flood of economic reports It will be some weeks yet before all of the economic data releases that were postponed during the government shutdown are published. As the shutdown will have severely delayed the collection process... 17th October 2013 · 1 min read
US Economics Update Short-term debt ceiling fix still leaves plenty of uncertainty Financial markets have been buoyed by media reports indicating that both the Senate and the House are preparing to vote imminently on a bill to reopen the Federal government and raise the debt ceiling... 16th October 2013 · 1 min read
US Economics Update Senate edging closer to deal to reopen government The Senate appears to be edging closer to a deal to reopen the Federal government and raise the debt ceiling. There is a risk that the Republican-controlled House will initially reject that agreement... 15th October 2013 · 1 min read
US Economics Update Delving into the Treasury’s spending schedule Despite the more promising tone of the recent discussions on Capitol Hill, there remains a risk that the debt ceiling will not be raised before Thursday. But a detailed look at the Treasury’s spending... 15th October 2013 · 1 min read
US Economics Update Fed minutes point to December taper, but that was pre-shutdown The minutes from the contentious FOMC meeting last month reveal that despite the decision to delay the tapering of its asset purchases, which was described as a "relatively close call", "most" Fed... 9th October 2013 · 1 min read
US Economics Update Filling in the data gaps Some of the less well-known private sector alternatives to the official statistical releases, which have been suspended for the duration of the Federal government shutdown, suggest that the economy... 9th October 2013 · 1 min read
US Economics Update On shutdown costs and the timing of a possible default The furloughing of 800,000 Federal employees, as part of the government shutdown that began today, will reduce spending by roughly $155 million per day. Over a whole year, the cost would be equivalent... 1st October 2013 · 1 min read
US Economics Update Shutdown only the opening act in budget negotiations The economic impact of the Federal shutdown that began today all depends on how long it drags on and, in particular, whether the acrimonious stand-off in Congress spills over into the negotiations to... 1st October 2013 · 1 min read
US Economics Update Household net worth continues to rebound The Federal Reserve's latest financial accounts show that households continued to deleverage in the second quarter, while the increase in public sector debt was the smallest since the financial crisis... 25th September 2013 · 1 min read
US Economics Update Risk of Federal government shutdown can't be dismissed Congress is about to enter the critical stage of negotiations to extend the Federal government's spending authority, which will otherwise expire when the new fiscal year begins on 1st October, and, in... 20th September 2013 · 1 min read
US Economics Update Fed delays taper; then fails to offer a clear explanation why The Fed's decision to maintain its asset purchases at $85bn per month was, given that most commentators expected a modest reduction in the pace today, unsurprisingly bond and equity positive. We... 18th September 2013 · 1 min read
US Economics Update America’s daunting long-term debt problem The CBO's latest projections show that America’s long-term debt problem is slightly less daunting than it previously appeared to be. Nevertheless, at some point policymakers will still need to tackle... 17th September 2013 · 1 min read
