Archive: Economic and Financial Digest
August 27, 2019 | Economic and Financial Digest
Recession Watch
Is the longest expansion in American history about to expire? A time-honored financial indicator recently sparked more interest in that question, but concerns over the economy’s direction had been growing for several months. True, the headline data suggest there is little to worry about. After staging a deceptively strong 3.1 percent growth rate in the […]
August 19, 2019 | Economic and Financial Digest
Buying Insurance
At their open market committee meeting on July 30-31, the Federal Reserve cut short-term interest rates by 0.25%. Although the markets anticipated the move long before the Fed made their official announcement, the cut represents an important change in position from the hawkish stance seen as recently as December of last year. At the press […]
July 15, 2019 | Economic and Financial Digest
Time to Celebrate
The U.S. economy is celebrating an important milestone this month, having entered the longest expansion in its history. According to the National Bureau of Economic Research, the official arbiter that identifies the start and end of business cycles, the Great Recession ended in June 2009, making this July the 121st month of growth, surpassing the […]
May 06, 2019 | Economic and Financial Digest
Profits Recession?
The U.S. economy is tracking a path very close to expectations – growing more slowly than last year but not decelerating to the edge of a recession. Yes, recession odds have risen in recent months, thanks mainly to a global backdrop that is turning weaker than expected. The International Monetary Fund just lowered its global […]
April 16, 2019 | Economic and Financial Digest
Back to the Future: 2% Growth
As advertised, the brutal headwinds that buffeted the U.S. economy late last year are having knock-on effects in the early months of 2019. The economy’s performance in the closing quarter of 2018 did not look bad at all as GDP advanced by a respectable 2.6 percent annual rate, according to the government’s preliminary estimate That […]