Recent inflation readings have firmed up, although remain subdued historically. As have inflation expectations. What happens with crude oil, which rallied big the past couple of years, is worth watching. Later today, the FOMC concludes its two-day meeting – the … Continued
How times have changed? It did not take long for markets’ attention to do a 360 from fears of deflation to that of inflation. January’s consumer price index was reported Wednesday. It was stronger than expected. In the 12 months … Continued
Of late, the U.S. dollar has defied expectations. Since peaking at 103.82 early January last year through Thursday’s intraday low, the US dollar index (89.23) dropped 15 percent. This was a period in which U.S. economic fundamentals have been decent … Continued
Thanks to faster growth in the second half last year, inventory is getting wrung out of the system. It is probably only a matter of time accumulation occurs again. In 3Q17, U.S. real GDP grew at an annual rate of … Continued
The Federal Reserve would like some inflation. In fact, every major central bank would. Or, for that matter, every debtor would – be it an individual, a corporation, or a sovereign nation. For debtors, a little inflation goes a long … Continued