Economic Commentary

Tax Time – The Treasury Department reported that the federal deficit totaled $691 billion for the first half of FY19, up from $600 billion for the first half of FY18. The full-year deficit (ending in September) is expected to hit $1 trillion. Tax receipts were up 0.7% in the first six months of FY19. Individual […]

Nonfarm payrolls rose a bit more than expected in the initial estimate for March. While the monthly data are subject to statistical noise and seasonal adjustment difficulties, the underlying trend in job growth is likely moderating. That shouldn’t be a surprise. The job market is tight and firms continue to report difficulties in hiring new […]

The GDP Arithmetic – As anticipated, the estimate of fourth quarter GDP growth was revised lower (to 2.2%, vs. +2.6% in the “initial” estimate). All major components grew a bit less than in the previous estimate. Recent figures have generally been consistent with a lackluster pace of growth in 1Q19. However, while we are poised to […]

As expected, the Federal Open Market Committee left short-term interest rates unchanged and provided some details on the unwinding of the balance sheet. The revised dot plot showed that a majority of senior Fed officials expect no change in rates in 2019 (but a majority also anticipate one or more hikes in 2020). In contrast, […]