Economic Commentary

ECONOMY AND POLICY October 30, 2020 Chief Economist Scott Brown discusses the latest market data. Earnings reports were generally supportive and the economic data remained consistent with moderate economic growth in the near term, but financial market participants remained focused on election uncertainty and rising COVID-19 cases. Real GDP rose 7.4% (q/q) in the advance […]

ECONOMY AND POLICY October 23, 2020 Chief Economist Scott Brown discusses current economic conditions. There are a number of uncertainties heading into the November 3 election and many more as we look ahead into 2021. There’s a long held belief that the stock market abhors uncertainty. There’s also an old adage that says the market […]

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 […]