by sslifer | Sep 15, 2023 | Commentary for the Week, NumberNomics Notes
September 15, 2023 As data continue to flow in, third quarter GDP growth seems likely to be a solid 3.5%. But in October as student loan borrowers resume payments on their debt the pace of consumer spending is almost certain to slow. At the same time workers at the...
by sslifer | Sep 12, 2023 | Miscellaneous, NumberNomics Notes
September 12, 2023 Economists like to keep an eye on the amount of leverage amongst corporations. When corporations take on huge amounts of debt in relation to their net worth, any economic downturn will be much more severe than it would otherwise be as corporations...
by sslifer | Sep 12, 2023 | Miscellaneous, NumberNomics Notes
September 12, 2023 Corporate cash holdings in the first half of 2020 as the government quarantine basically caused the economy to stop dead in its tracks. Firms needed to raise money wherever they could to keep them going until such time as the virus eased its grip...
by sslifer | Aug 25, 2023 | Commentary for the Week, NumberNomics Notes
August 25, 2023 How high must the funds rate go before the Fed says it is done tightening? When might the Fed begin to lower the funds rate? Fed Chair Powell refuses to answer either of those questions for two good reasons. First, the Fed never wants to be locked...
by sslifer | Aug 18, 2023 | Commentary for the Week, NumberNomics Notes
October 18, 2023 The budget problem has arrived. Budget deficits are averaging $2.0 trillion which means that the government must issue an equivalent amount of debt every year to pay its bills. As a result, debt in relation to GDP is expected to climb to 119% by...
by sslifer | Aug 11, 2023 | Commentary for the Week, NumberNomics Notes
August 11, 2023 In the wake of the July CPI data there is a growing perception that inflation is steadily subsiding and that the Fed will not need to increase the funds rate further. We are not so sure. Several factors seem important. First, will the economy slow...
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