Monthly Archives: December 2023

No Recession Next Year?

Financial FAQs Fortune Magazine has come up with the most interesting reasons for a looming recession in a recent edition. “Here are six reasons why a recession remains Bloomberg Economics’ base case. They range from the wiring of the human … Continue reading

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It Wasn’t the Fed

Popular Economics Weekly What more does Chairman Powell and the Federal Reserve Governors need to know to announce the inflation battle has been won? Its preferred inflation indicator has shown zero monthly increases for two months. The rate of U.S. … Continue reading

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Consumers Much Happier This Season

Financial FAQs Consumer confidence in December as measured by the Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence Index is rising again; it jumped 10 points to 110.7 from 101. Why should that be, with all the doom and gloom and geopolitical uncertainty bombarding … Continue reading

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How Low Can Interest Rates Go?

The Mortgage Corner Stocks and bonds are rallying after Chairman Powell sounded dovish for the first time at his December press conference following their last FOMC meeting of the year. “The question of when it will be appropriate to begin … Continue reading

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Please Drop Interest Rates Sooner!

Financial FAQs If I were the Fed Governors, I wouldn’t wait for inflation to drop further to begin lowering interest rates. The inflation rate has been falling steadily for more than a year and we might be in the midst of a … Continue reading

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More Jobs Than Ever!

Popular Economics Weekly This is what is called a ‘soft landing’. More jobs are being created in November’s unemployment report, though some 50,000 of the 199,000 new nonfarm payroll jobs are strikers returning to work in Hollywood productions and auto … Continue reading

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Higher Productivity Lowers Inflation

Financial FAQs Why has the Fed got it so wrong with inflation, even though the inflation rate has been falling steadily for more than a year? Paul Krugman in a recent NYTimes Op-ed said the personal consumption expenditure deflator (PCE) … Continue reading

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Peacemaking in E. Congo

Answering Kennedy’s Call What could be more important than supporting projects in the Democratic Republic of Congo? Santa Barbara Rotarians have been supporting projects such as the Congo Peace School in conjunction with an eastern Congo Rotary Club since 2010. … Continue reading

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What Happens Next?

Popular Economics Weekly What does the future foretell? Everyone wants to know what will happen next year now that the Fed is on hold and inflation continues to decline. I believe the construction industry is telling us the economy will … Continue reading

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