Economic Commentary

February 05, 2020 Chief Economist Scott Brown discusses the latest market data. With the previous week’s short-squeeze headlines behind us, investors remained optimistic about a fiscal support package, which passed the Senate by a vote of 51-50, with Vice President Harris breaking the tie. Nonfarm payrolls rose by 49,000 in the initial estimate for January, […]

January 29, 2021 Chief Economist Scott Brown discusses current economic conditions. Real GDP rose at a 4.0% annual rate in the advance estimate for 4Q20, a much more moderate pace of recovery than was seen in the third quarter. Details were mixed, but consumer spending showed a significant loss of momentum and monthly figures reflected […]

January 22, 2021 Chief Economist Scott Brown discusses current economic conditions. As expected, the new administration has hit the ground running. In his first two days in office, President Biden issued executive orders which rescinded a number of previous directives or were aimed at ending the pandemic and easing the pandemic’s economic impact. For investors, […]

January 15, 2021 Chief Economist Scott Brown discusses current economic conditions. Judging by recent phone calls and email queries, inflation is a serious concern among investors this year. We can expect to see some reflation, a rebound in prices that were depressed during the pandemic, but a broad-based increase in underlying inflation is unlikely. Opinions […]