Economic Commentary

ECONOMY AND POLICY July 16, 2021   Chief Economist Scott Brown discusses the latest market data. Fed Chair Powell covered no new ground in his monetary policy testimony to Congress. Powell noted that while labor market conditions have improved, “there is still a long way to go.” Inflation is temporarily boosted by base effects and […]

ECONOMY AND POLICY July 16, 2021   Chief Economist Scott Brown discusses current economic conditions. Fed Chair Powell covered no new ground in his monetary policy testimony to Congress. The Fed is a long way from raising short- term interest rates (federal funds target rate at 0-0.25%) and is in no hurry to begin tapering […]

ECONOMY AND POLICY July 09, 2021   Chief Economist Scott Brown discusses the latest market data. Next week, inflation returns as a hot topic for investors. The CPI may continue to reflect reopening pressures, but watch the index for used cars (which rose 18.1 in April and May and may partly reverse in June). The […]

ECONOMY AND POLICY July 02, 2021   Chief Economist Scott Brown discusses current economic conditions. Nonfarm payrolls rose by 850,000 in the initial estimate for June, well above the median forecast of economists (+700,000), but boosted by a seasonal quirk in education (which added 268,000). The unemployment rate ticked up unexpectedly (to 5.9%), but that’s […]