Recent labor market and inflation data and comments from Fed officials have done little to clarify the trajectory of Fed interest rate policy. Indeed, the rift between the views of market participants and Fed officials appears to have widened. Market participants read the consumer price data for November, released at the time of the Fed’s … Continue reading The Inflation Battle: Is the Fed Close to the Finish Line?
Posts
The U.K.’s Recent Budget Turmoil: The Canary in the Coal Mine
On September 23, the new prime minister of the United Kingdom, Liz Truss, surprised financial markets by announcing a deficit-expanding fiscal package that included large tax cuts and energy subsidies. This announcement triggered concerns by market participants that Britain may be moving onto a path that would result in it being unable to service its … Continue reading The U.K.’s Recent Budget Turmoil: The Canary in the Coal Mine
Inflation in the Rear View Mirror?
The October CPI data released on November 10 were greeted enthusiastically by financial market participants. Not only were the headline and core price increases the smallest in months, but both measures came in well below expectations. Does this mean that the back of consumer price inflation has finally been broken and that the Fed can … Continue reading Inflation in the Rear View Mirror?
The Hot Labor Market and Outlook for Fed Policy
Recent data on the labor market, including the October monthly employment report and weekly initial claims for unemployment insurance, indicate that excess demand for labor persists. The extremely tight labor market was an underlying theme of Fed Chair Powell’s press conference on November 2. The chart below shows the excess of job openings over the … Continue reading The Hot Labor Market and Outlook for Fed Policy
Is the Pace of Fed Tightening Slowing Soon?
The Consumer Price Index (CPI) for September all but guaranteed that the Fed on November 2 will hike the federal funds rate another 75 basis points to 3-3/4 to 4 percent from its current 3 to 3-1/4 percent. As shown in the chart below, headline inflation—the blue line—stayed above 8 percent in September while core … Continue reading Is the Pace of Fed Tightening Slowing Soon?
Fed Policy: Getting Closer
Recent news confirms that the Fed’s job of tightening monetary policy has a ways to go. The September employment report conveyed an ongoing tight labor market and the reluctance of idled workers to return to the labor force—with implications for a continuation of inflationary pressure coming from this market. The most recent report on job … Continue reading Fed Policy: Getting Closer
What Do the August CPI Data Tell Us About the Outlook for Inflation and Fed Policy?
The CPI data for August was not greeted warmly by financial markets, even though there was another drop in headline inflation (measured on a twelve-month basis, the blue line in the chart below). What unnerved market participants was the upturn in core inflation (that removes volatile food and energy prices) after several months of decline … Continue reading What Do the August CPI Data Tell Us About the Outlook for Inflation and Fed Policy?
Chair Powell’s Remarks: What Did He Say—and Why?
On August 26, Fed Chair Powell sent a jolt through financial markets with his remarks delivered to the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City’s annual central banking conference in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. What did he say and why did he say it—and is there anything more to be said? The Powell speech was focused on … Continue reading Chair Powell’s Remarks: What Did He Say—and Why?
Rethinking the Income Tax
The more than doubling of IRS staff under the “Inflation Reduction Act” has caused a firestorm over who will be the focus (“targets”) of more tax audits and whether tax audits will be used for political purposes (“weaponization” of the IRS). This controversy raises the question of whether the current U.S. income tax system needs … Continue reading Rethinking the Income Tax
Will Slower Inflation Lead to a Slowdown in Fed Tightening?
Headline inflation (that is, increases in the prices of all goods and services that consumers buy) has begun to slow. In July, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) showed no change from June in the average price that consumers pay for goods and services. Flatness in headline prices owed to a 4.6 percent decline in energy prices that … Continue reading Will Slower Inflation Lead to a Slowdown in Fed Tightening?
Thomas D. Simpson, PH.D. 