Recent Updates
- Canada: Employment Insurance (Mar), Industrial Production & Raw Material Prices (Apr)
- Mexico: Manufacturing Employment (Mar)
- Latvia: Labor Force Statistics (Apr)
- UK: CBI Industrial Trends Survey (May)
- more updates...
Economy in Brief
U.S. Mortgage Applications Continued to Slide Amid Higher Rates
The biggest declines have been in refinancing activity, while applications for purchase are just starting to crack...
UK Inflation Jumps
Inflation is at the highest rate since the series began in January of 1989...
U.S. Industrial Production Much Stronger than Expected in April
The increase in manufacturing output in April was once again led by motor vehicle and parts production...
U.S. Retail Sales Posted Solid Rise in April
Notwithstanding falling real incomes and declining confidence measures, consumer spending posted a solid increase...
U.S. Home Builder Index Took a Steep Drop in May
This is the fifth straight month that builder sentiment has declined...
Viewpoints
Commentaries are the opinions of the author and do not reflect the views of Haver Analytics.
Profits and Margins Plunge In Q1: Expect More Margin Contraction As Fed Squeezes Inflation
The Many Links of Inflation Cycle: Hard Landing Is Needed to Crack Them
Peak Inflation & Fed Policy: A Relationship Which Should Worry The Fed And Scare Investors
Why Have the Yields on TIPS Been Negative in the Past Two Years?
by Tom Moeller October 29, 2008
The Federal Open Market Committee today cut the Federal funds rate, as expected, to 1.00% from 1.50%. The discount rate also was cut to 1.25%. The latest Fed funds rate was its lowest since 2004.
The Fed indicated three specific reasons for lowering interest rates today. 1) A slowdown in U.S. economic growth due to slower consumer spending and weaker business investment spending 2) Financial market turmoil and 3) an expectation for moderation in inflation due to lower energy and other commodity prices as well as slower economic growth.
Credit market conditions were expected by the Fed to improve due to interest rate cuts around the world, "extraordinary liquidity measures" and actions to strengthen financial systems.
The decision was unanimous amongst FOMC voters.
For the complete text of the Fed's latest press release please follow this link.
How Economic News Moves Markets from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York can be found here.
| Current | Last | September | 2007 | 2006 | 2005 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Federal Funds Rate, % (Target) | 1.00 | 1.50 | 2.00 | 5.05 | 4.96 | 3.19 |
| Discount Rate, % | 1.25 | 1.75 | 2.25 | 5.86 | 5.96 | 4.19 |
