Economic Commentary

ECONOMY AND POLICY March 11, 2022   Chief Economist Scott Brown discusses current economic conditions. The CPI rose 0.8% in February, bringing the year-over-year gain to 7.9%. Price increases further broadened across categories. In the early 1980s, the Fed, led by Paul Volcker, raised short-term interest rates sharply, putting the economy into recession, to squeeze […]

ECONOMY AND POLICY March 11, 2022   Chief Economist Scott Brown discusses the latest market data. Tensions in Ukraine remained at the forefront for investors The Consumer Price Index rose 0.8% in February (+7.9% y/y), up 0.5% (+6.4% y/y) ex-food and energy. The Bureau of Labor Statistics noted that “virtually all” of the core CPI […]

ECONOMY AND POLICY March 04, 2022   Chief Economist Scott Brown discusses current economic conditions. In his monetary policy testimony to Congress, Fed Chair Pro Tempore Powell solidified market expectations that the Federal Open Market Committee will raise short-term interest rates by 25 basis points on March 16 (and not by 50). The February employment […]

ECONOMY AND POLICY March 04, 2022   Chief Economist Scott Brown discusses the latest market data. Tensions in Ukraine remained at the forefront for investors, but there were some important developments on the economic front. In his monetary policy testimony to Congress, Fed Chair Pro Tempore Jerome Powell further solidified market expectations that the Federal […]