Economic Commentary

ECONOMY AND POLICY September 11, 2020 Chief Economist Scott Brown discusses current economic conditions. Amid extreme social distancing, economic activity took a major hit in March and April. The initial rebound in May, June, and July was strong, but partial, and the pace of improvement appears to have slowed in August. The easy part of […]

Weekly Market Snapshot ECONOMY AND POLICY September 11, 2020 Chief Economist Scott Brown discusses the latest market data. The major stock market indices were choppy on a day-to-day basis, as investors continued to reevaluate the rally off the lows. The economic data reports were inconsequential. The Consumer Price Index rose 0.4% in August (-0.2% y/y), […]

ECONOMY AND POLICY September 04, 2020 Chief Economist Scott Brown discusses current economic conditions. The August Employment Report in Perspective Private–sector payrolls rose by 1.027 million in the initial estimate for August. Normally, such a gain would be considered outstanding. However, in this recovery, that comes as a disappointment. The increase in jobs leaves us […]

ECONOMY AND POLICY September 04, 2020 Chief Economist Scott Brown discusses the latest market data. While there were a number of important economic releases, market participants ignored the data for the most part. Tech highfliers came down, leading stock market indices lower. Nonfarm payrolls rose by 1.371 million in the initial estimate for August, about […]