Today’s Wall Street Journal highlighted that after nearly five years, middle-class earners now find that living is becoming increasingly unaffordable. Pew Research Center defines the middle-class broadly as having a household income between about [...]
The Federal Reserve currently has two major challenges — fighting inflation and averting a credit crunch. Raghuram Rajan, the former governor of the Reserve Bank of India, summarized the problem: “They (the Federal Reserve) are between a [...]
On April 11, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) warned that its economic outlook for 2023 has been lowered. IMF Managing Director Kristina Georgieva cautioned that global growth is set for the weakest near-term expansion since 1990. The [...]
On Feb. 14, the Labor Department reported that the Consumer Price Index increased by 6.4% over the past year. This represents the seventh straight month of declines. CPI measures a broad basket of goods and [...]
On Oct. 13, the Labor Department released data that showed the consumer price index rose 8.2% in September. Over the past year, the core inflation index, which excludes food and energy, increased 6.6%, the highest level since [...]
The Treasury Department released data on Oct. 4 that showed America’s national debt exceeded $31 trillion for the first time. Our outstanding debt raises major fiscal concerns because low interest costs to fund the debt are [...]
On Sept. 13, the Labor Department reported that the Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 8.3% in August over the past 12 months. The core CPI, which excludes energy and food prices, increased 6.3% from the previous year. [...]
On Sept. 8, the European Central Bank (ECB) increased its interest rates by 75 basis points, the largest ever. ECB revised up its inflation expectations to an average of 8.1% in 2022. The bank indicated that they “expect [...]
On July 14, the Euro slid below the U.S. dollar for the first time in 20 years. The Euro’s downward spiral has been swift and brutal, given that it was trading around $1.15 in February. As [...]
On June 15, in response to inflation concerns, the Federal Reserve raised overnight rates by 75 basis points. This marks the greatest increase in 28 years. The Fed forecasts raising overnight rates to 3.75% by the end [...]
The former chief U.S. economist for UBS, Maury Harris, wrote an article “When Will More Economists Forecast Recession?” Harris pointed out that “an April poll conducted by the Wall Street Journal put the probability of [...]
The Labor Department released two disturbing reports relating to inflation. The Producer Price Index (PPI), which measures the prices paid by wholesalers, rose 11.2% from a year ago. The Consumer Price Index (CPI), which [...]
On March 16, the Federal Reserve approved a 0.25% rate hike, the first increase since December 2018. Jerome Powell, chairman of the Federal Reserve, stated that our Central Bank will raise rates aggressively over the next year [...]
Similar to the effects of the Vietnam War, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has shifted the geopolitical and economic forces toward higher inflation. The sudden isolation of the Russian economy reflects the West’s condemnation of this [...]
On March 4, the Labor Department reported very strong employment numbers. In brief, the U.S. has benefitted from robust job growth for months. Specifically, 678,000 workers joined the workforce in February. This brings employment to levels [...]
“The inflation number is a reminder that Americans’ budgets are being stretched in ways that create real stress at the kitchen table." --President Biden U.S. 10-year Treasury yields rose on Feb. 10 above 2% for [...]
There is a growing consensus that the United States will enjoy solid economic growth in 2022 despite concerns about inflation, supply chain disruptions, COVID-19, and Federal Reserve tightening. The Conference Board, a research group [...]
On Friday, the Labor Department revealed that the consumer price index (CPI) has climbed 6.8% over the past 12 months. This represents the fastest annual pace in almost 40 years. Inflation of this magnitude is eroding [...]
The magazine, The Economist, wrote in its October edition that, “The world is on the brink of a real-time revolution in economics, as the quality and timeliness of information are transformed. This state-of-the-art innovation [...]
On Wednesday, the Labor Department reported the core consumer price index (CPI) inflation rate rose 5.4% over the past year to the highest 12-month rate since 2008. Core inflation is a measure of the [...]
In response to U.S. consumer prices (CPI) increasing the most in 13 years (4.5% year-on year), far beyond the Fed’s 2% guideline, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell told lawmakers that he has concerns about [...]
On June 21st, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell testified that while the U.S. will experience some inflation post Covid-19, he does not anticipate prices to increase similar to our experience in the late 1970’s [...]
A recent Harvard-CAPS-Harris Poll reveals that Americans have concerns about inflation but are increasingly bullish about the economy. Fifty-six percent of respondents believe the economy is strong and their personal finances are improving. Americans [...]
From economists to the man on the street, we now have concerns over a rapid increase in inflation. Those of us who lived through the 1970’s and early 1980’s remember how America suffered from [...]
On Wednesday, Federal Reserve Chairman Jay Powell said that he is concerned about low inflation not only in the United States but also in other developed countries. Specifically, inflation for a significant time period [...]
President Trump’s nominee to be Federal Reserve chairman, Jerome Powell, is expected to continue the Fed’s restrained approach to reversing the central bank’s crisis-era stimulus policies. This would mean gradually raising short-term interest rates [...]
An article in the New York Times entitled "The goal of 2 percent inflation, rethought" shows the improbable evolution of this important economic target. According to the piece by Times senior economics correspondent Neil [...]
