Economic Commentary

ECONOMY AND POLICY October 23, 2020 Chief Economist Scott Brown discusses the latest market data. The Fed’s Beige Book reported that overall growth was characterized as “slight to modest” in most areas of the country, although “changes in activity varied greatly by sector.” Job growth “remained slow,” as “firms continued to report new furloughs and […]

ECONOMY AND POLICY October 16, 2020 Chief Economist Scott Brown discusses current economic conditions. By now, it should be clear that COVID-19 is not going to go away anytime soon. Consumers and businesses are getting used to living and working under the pandemic and some changes, such as the tendency to work from home, will […]

ECONOMY AND POLICY October 16, 2020 Chief Economist Scott Brown discusses the latest market data. Retail sales rose 1.9% in September, boosted partly by a seasonal quirk. Department store sales jumped 9.7% (-7.0% before seasonal adjustment) and clothing store sales surged 11.0% (-4.3% before seasonal adjustment). August is the month for back-to-school sales. Reduced strength […]

ECONOMY AND POLICY October 09, 2020 Chief Economist Scott Brown discusses current economic conditions. Job losses in the early stages of the pandemic were more concentrated among low-wage workers. About half of those jobs have come back. For high-wage workers, who have been more able to work from home, job losses were less severe and […]