Economic Commentary

ECONOMY AND POLICY June 18, 2021   Chief Economist Scott Brown discusses current economic conditions. No surprise, the Federal Open Market Committee left short-term interest rates unchanged and did not alter its monthly pace of asset purchases. Financial market participants did react to a shift in the dot plot and some Fed observers are already […]

ECONOMY AND POLICY June 18, 2021   Chief Economist Scott Brown discusses the latest market data. The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) left short-term interest rates unchanged and did not alter the monthly pace of asset purchases. Officials revised their expectations for 2021 growth and inflation higher, but the increase in inflation was still expected […]

ECONOMY AND POLICY June 11, 2021   Chief Economist Scott Brown discusses current economic conditions. Oh, wow, déjà vu. Once again, the monthly increase in the CPI exceeded expectations. The Consumer Price Index has now posted its largest two-month increase, and its largest year-over-year increase, since mid-2008. So, naturally, bond yields are… lower??? The CPI […]

ECONOMY AND POLICY June 11, 2021   Chief Economist Scott Brown discusses the latest market data. The Consumer Price Index rose 0.6% in May (+5.0% y/y, vs. +0.1% y/y in May 2020), up 0.7% ex-food & energy (+3.8% y/y, vs. +1.2% in May 2020). The increase was more than expected but continued to reflect base […]