Recent Updates
- UK: National Insurance Number Allocations (Q3)
- Slovenia: Turnover in Services (Sep)
- Euro area: Monetary Developments in the Euro Area (Oct)
- China: Bond Issuance (Q3)
- Lithuania: Consumer Surveys (Nov)
- more updates...
Economy in Brief
U.S. New Home Sales Almost Unchanged Since August
New single-family home sales around the country changed very little in October and also in September...
U.S. Q3 Growth GDP Unrevised at 33.1%; Corporate Profits Rebound
The second estimate of Q3 U.S. real GDP indicated that economic activity rose an unrevised 33.1% q/q...
U.S. Durable Goods Orders Rise Further in October
Manufacturers’ orders for durable goods increased 1.3% m/m (-0.3% y/y) in October...
U.S. Goods Trade Deficit Deepens During October
The advance estimate of the U.S. trade deficit in goods deepened to $80.29 billion during October...
U.S. Initial Jobless Claims Rise for a Second Week
Initial claims for regular state unemployment insurance rose again this past week ending November 21 to 778,000...
Viewpoints
Commentaries are the opinions of the author and do not reflect the views of Haver Analytics.
by Tom Moeller November 1, 2005
The Federal Open Market Committee's unanimous decision to increase the target rate for federal funds 25 basis points to 4.00% was widely expected by analysts. The discount rate also was raised 25 basis points to 5.00%. This latest increase was the twelfth since June of 2004.
Today's press release from the Fed focused on the effects of higher energy prices. "Elevated energy prices and hurricane-related disruptions in economic activity have temporarily depressed output and employment."
The FOMC statement further indicated, as it did in September, that "The cumulative rise in energy and other costs have the potential to add to inflation pressures ..."
For the complete text of the Fed's latest press release please click here.
Implementing Monetary Policy, a March 2005 speech by then Fed Governor Ben S. Bernanke is available here.
