Economic Commentary
Weekly Market Snapshot
ECONOMY AND POLICY November 20, 2020 Chief Economist Scott Brown discusses the latest market data. While vaccine news has been positive, investors remain concerned about rising COVID-19 cases and dimming prospects for fiscal stimulus. Weekly jobless claims rose to 742,000, but the figures tend to be noisy at this time of year. Retail sales rose […]
Episode IV, A New Hope
ECONOMY AND POLICY November 13, 2020 Chief Economist Scott Brown discusses current economic conditions. Some very good news on vaccine development, along with expectations of a divided government, helped propel the stock market this week. The economic impact of a vaccine depends on a number of things. We still have a long way to go […]
Weekly Market Snapshot
ECONOMY AND POLICY November 13, 2020 Chief Economist Scott Brown discusses the latest market data. Election results (a divided Washington) and good news on a potential vaccine boosted share prices, although there were some concerns about surging COVID-19 cases (163,402 reported on November 12) and possible difficulties in distributing the vaccine. Weekly jobless claims fell […]
The October Employment Report
ECONOMY AND POLICY November 06, 2020 Chief Economist Scott Brown discusses current economic conditions. The October Employment Report – Recent data reports have been consistent with a further rebound in economic activity, but we still have a long way to get back to where we were before the pandemic and the pace of improvement has moderated. […]