by sslifer | Sep 27, 2019 | Commentary for the Week, NumberNomics Notes
September 27, 2019 There is ample evidence that the housing sector is on the mend following its steady slide over the course of the past year. The improvement reflects a drop to near-record-low mortgage rates of 3.6%. That has given a temporary boost to the...
by sslifer | Sep 20, 2019 | Commentary for the Week, NumberNomics Notes
September 20, 2019 The biggest surprise in recent years is that inflation has not begun to climb. The labor market has been at full employment for a while, we have seen upward pressure on wages, but inflation has remained dormant. It is important to understand why...
by sslifer | Sep 13, 2019 | Commentary for the Week, NumberNomics Notes
September 13, 2019 The European Central Bank provided a surprise dose of monetary stimulus this past week. Not only did it cut interest rates, it announced a new bond-buying program designed to get the economy going. However, policy makers in Europe and the U.S....
by sslifer | Sep 6, 2019 | Commentary for the Week, NumberNomics Notes
September 6, 2019 The consensus view is that the tariffs imposed by President Trump have increased the risk of recession in 2020. Even the Federal Reserve seems to buy into that scenario. We continue to disagree with that conclusion for two reasons. First, reduced...
by sslifer | Aug 30, 2019 | Commentary for the Week, NumberNomics Notes
August 30, 2019 Trump’s tweets are preventing him from achieving the 3.0% GDP growth he hoped for. Their random nature is unsettling to business leaders whose confidence has been shaken. As a result, investment spending has slowed. Productivity growth should soon...
by sslifer | Aug 26, 2019 | Commentary for the Week, NumberNomics Notes
August 26, 2019 Much has been written about the growing student loan problem in the past couple of months. But, as always seems to be the case, the hype about the dimensions of the problem seems to exceed the reality. It is true that student loans outstanding are...
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