Tag Archives: Federal Reserve

US Economy Has Landed–Part II

Posted on February 2, 2024 by Popular Economics Weekly

Popular Economics Weekly I said last week there’s no longer any doubt the US economy has made a soft landing because the economy grew 3.3 percent in Q4 2023 and 3.1 percent for the year. The first look at employment … Continue reading →

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Interest Rates About To Fall?

Posted on February 1, 2024 by Popular Economics Weekly

Financial FAQs Fed Chair Jerome Powell was as ambiguous as ever at yesterday’s post-FOMC press conference. He reported the Fed Governors decided no more rate hikes were warranted, but they needed to be more confident that inflation had been tamed … Continue reading →

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US Economy Has Landed

Posted on January 25, 2024 by Popular Economics Weekly

Popular Economics Weekly There is no longer any doubt with the initial estimate of fourth quarter GDP growth just in. The US economy has made a soft landing. The economy grew 3.3 percent in Q4 after a 4.9 percent increase … Continue reading →

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First Signs of Deflation Appearing

Posted on January 13, 2024 by Popular Economics Weekly

The Mortgage Corner Today’s Producer Price Index for Final Demand, a measure of the cost of wholesale prices, provides the first concrete evidence that we may be entering a period of deflation this New Year. And, perhaps require the Fed … Continue reading →

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Please Get Inflation Picture Right!

Posted on January 11, 2024 by Popular Economics Weekly

Financial FAQs Today’s news that the Consumer Price Index (CPI) was “slightly hotter than expected”, per the Wall Street Journal, caused financial markets to plunge on the assumption the Fed will reduce interest rates more slowly than markets would like … Continue reading →

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When Has Inflation Declined This Quickly?

Posted on January 9, 2024 by Popular Economics Weekly

The Mortgage Corner When was the last time inflation rates declined this steeply? You guessed right if you said the Great Recession. Calculated Risk’s colorful graph of various inflation indicators (gray bars are recessions) shows the history of Core CPI … Continue reading →

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It Wasn’t the Fed

Posted on December 26, 2023 by Popular Economics Weekly

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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How Low Can Interest Rates Go?

Posted on December 18, 2023 by Popular Economics Weekly

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!

Posted on December 12, 2023 by Popular Economics Weekly

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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Higher Productivity Lowers Inflation

Posted on December 7, 2023 by Popular Economics Weekly

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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