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Data Release

Recent Financial Tightening (and Inflation Data to Come) Outweighs Strong September Jobs

We are adjusting our call. This was a strong jobs report, and it makes clear that there’s more work to be done. However, the tightening in financial conditions we’ve seen—before and after this report—constitutes a lot of new restraint. The market has raised the probability that there will be another rate hike to about 50%, and it’s raised the […]

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Data Release

Thoughts on BEA’s Monthly Data through August

Yesterday BEA released revised quarterly NIPA data through Q2, with the 2023 comprehensive update of the national economic accounts affecting the data through Q1. Today BEA released the monthly data underlying the quarterly data released yesterday (i.e. the monthly data through June corresponding to the quarterly data through Q2) as well as the data for […]

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Weekly Update

Weekly Update: May Edition of the 50-or-25 Debate Kicks Off

As we wrote last week, despite there being some significant surprises in the March SEP, we still felt comfortable with our call of seven 25-basis-point hikes this year. We adjusted our call only slightly, by adding a hike in 2023 (three instead of two). The median projected funds rate path was higher than we anticipated, […]

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Weekly Update

Weekly Update: Energy Shock Supports Case for Getting to Neutral—Not Necessarily Overshooting

The outlook just keeps getting more uncertain. Powell came to his first monetary policy testimony of the year last week with a plan to deliver a message, which he laid out very clearly early in the Q&A portion of the first day’s hearing. For the immediate period ahead, the FOMC’s intention is “to avoid adding […]

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Weekly Update

Weekly Update: A High Stakes Testimony for Powell Shortly Before Blackout

The war in Ukraine and associated international geopolitical crisis continues to evolve rapidly. Just this afternoon IEA members agreed to release 60 million barrels of oil from strategic reserves to mitigate spiking energy prices, and Treasury Secretary Yellen released a statement following a meeting of G7 financial leaders. The Financial Stability Oversight Council, which includes […]

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Weekly Update

Weekly Update: FOMC Looking to Pave the Way for March Liftoff, Not Add to the Uncertainty

The FOMC, and particularly Powell, have a difficult task this week, as well as in the weeks and months to come. It’s hard to think of another FOMC meeting before which there has been speculation both that the Fed could surprise to the very hawkish side (accelerate tapering, even end asset purchases outright and lift […]