Recently, US oil prices have surged breaking out of a trading range they had been in for more than a year. At the same time, oil prices in other regions of the world have been more stable. Higher US oil prices could negatively impact US economic growth. Should the same trend take hold in other […]
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Whither China?
For some time, China has been viewed as a key driver of worldwide economic growth. Many US multinationals have invested considerable sums in China, looking to benefit from the region’s anticipated growth. At the same time, others have questioned the pace of China’s growth due to concerns about the data reported by their government. More […]
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Tapering Still Seems to be in Our Future
The June employment report showed the economy added 195,000 jobs, ahead of the consensus forecast of 160,000. There were further signs of job market strength as the report showed the economy added 70,000 more jobs in April and May than the government previously estimated – 50,000 in April and 20,000 in May. In another positive […]
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Slower Can Be Better Than Faster
Slower Can Be Better Than Faster On Tuesday, June 25, the Commerce Department lowered its estimate of first quarter GDP growth to 1.8% annualized. This was down from the 2.4% rise it previously reported. After this news, the market reversed its downward course and increased more than 100 points for three consecutive days. Normally, we’d […]
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At the conclusion of this past week’s Federal Open Market Committee Meeting
At the conclusion of this past week’s Federal Open Market Committee Meeting (the branch of the Federal Reserve Board that determines the direction of monetary policy) Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke confirmed that the Fed may begin to taper off its $85 billion in monthly bond purchases. If the economy continues to improve and achieves […]