by sslifer | Mar 9, 2018 | Commentary for the Week, NumberNomics Notes
March 9, 2018 The “free trade” crowd, which includes virtually every economist, is up in arms about President Trump’s imposition of across-the-board tariffs on steel and aluminum. And to a large extent they are right. Through trade Americans have attained access to...
by sslifer | Mar 2, 2018 | Commentary for the Week, NumberNomics Notes
March 2, 2018 The Fed has embarked on a course of very slow and gradual increases in interest rates over the past two years designed to bring the funds rate into closer alignment with its historical average. It has been able to proceed slowly because the inflation...
by sslifer | Feb 23, 2018 | Commentary for the Week, NumberNomics Notes
February 23, 2018 Inflation fears sent the stock market into a tizzy in late January and early February. Those same fears rattled the bond market and boosted long-term interest rates. However, the fear of a sharp pickup in the inflation rate seems to have subsided...
by sslifer | Feb 16, 2018 | Commentary for the Week, NumberNomics Notes
February 16, 2018 The Federal Reserve Bank of New York recently released its quarterly report on household debt and credit. It noted that household debt balances increased last year and are at a record high level. That is an eye-catching headline and is factually...
by sslifer | Feb 9, 2018 | Commentary for the Week, NumberNomics Notes
February 9, 2018 The S&P 500 index has now retreated 10% from its record high level which means that it has officially experienced a “correction”. The decline was triggered by a report that wages have risen 2.7% in the past year which suggested to some market...
by sslifer | Feb 2, 2018 | Commentary for the Week, NumberNomics Notes
February 2, 2018 The stock and bond markets have finally begun to fear faster-than-expected GDP growth and worry that inflation might finally be on the rise. If that is the case, the Fed could raise the funds rate more quickly than is currently anticipated. But is...
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