Viewpoints: November 2019

Financialization has become a new feature and risk of monetary policy as decisions on policy rates and the balance sheet operate mainly through the portfolio channel. At the center of financialization are actual and perceived changes [...]

The Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank's estimates of state coincident activity for October show some signs of increasing divergence in activity, with perhaps some more indications of weakness. Over the last 12 months, 30 states report [...]

Reflecting the relatively muted national increase, in general, states saw little change in payroll employment in October. Only 4 states (Texas, Maryland, Utah, and Nebraska) reported statistically significant gains. Michigan reported [...]

Policymakers have become enmeshed in the "politics of their numbers" and mistakenly see an inflation shortfall when in reality it's a policy problem. Monetary decisions nowadays are based on a single price gauge that is not fully [...]

BEA has released estimates of state GDP for the second quarter. Along with the new quarterly figures revised histories of state GDP were released, consistent with last summer's GDP revision. The highlighted figures were real growth [...]

Preemptive policy moves have been a defining feature of monetary policy. In the past policymakers have made preemptive rate adjustments in response to potential inflation pressures, financial market turmoil, and now perceived risks [...]