Economic Research and Data
Features
- That Giant Sucking Sound
- Applied often, Ross Perot’s apt metaphor has not outlived its usefulness. There are still plenty of sucking sounds to worry about, not the least of which is our current fiscal posture, which is unsustainable.
Read more
- May Price Statistics
-
- The CPI rose 8.1 percent (annualized rate) in May, pushed up, in part, by a 67.8 percent increase in energy components. Over the past three months, the CPI is up 4.9 percent. Looking forward, professional forecasts see headline consumer prices remaining elevated throughout the rest of 2008 and falling to 2.4 percent by the end of 2009.
Read more
- Steady on Policy Rate, but Alert to Inflationary Pressures
-
- The Federal Open Market Committee left its target for the federal funds rate unchanged at 2 percent on June 25. This outcome surprised few: The market’s assessment of the probability of a rate change never rose above 25 percent during the intermeeting period. In its post–meeting statement, the FOMC noted that “[t]ight credit conditions, the ongoing credit contraction, and the rise in energy prices are likely to weigh on economic growth over the next few quarters.” Moreover, “the Committee expects inflation to moderate later this year and next year.”
Read more
