October 21, 2019
Megan Greene (Harvard) and Michael Klein (EconoFact) discuss some of the reasons for the low unemployment, and wage and price inflation in the U.S. economy.
October 8, 2019
Inflation has averaged just over 1-1/2 percent over the past decade. With unemployment at historic lows, continued soft inflation poses a puzzle and a challenge.
September 17, 2019
The Fed does not have much room to stimulate the economy with traditional tools if the economy were to slip into recession. A negative rate would give it more ammunition.
July 30, 2019
The federal funds rate remains below where it would normally be, given current economic conditions. But there is significant uncertainty in the assessment.
June 7, 2019
Modern Monetary Theory (MMT) has attracted attention, especially among many who see in it a support for greater government spending.
December 12, 2018
U.S. fiscal and monetary conditions are different today than they were before the Financial Crisis. How does this affect our ability to address an economic downturn?
December 6, 2018
An inverted yield curve — when interest rates on short-term Treasury bonds exceed those on longer-term Treasury bonds — has preceded recent U.S. recessions.
August 6, 2017
The Federal Reserve Bank has persistently undershot its inflation target of 2 percent. This level of low inflation is puzzling, given the low unemployment.
June 2, 2017
The US dollar got stronger in the wake of the 2016 election. But the dollar has since declined in value. As has the interest rate on 10-year Treasury Bills.