After a shaky start to the year, the U.S. economy grew by 2.9% in the fourth quarter of 2022 and by 2.1% for the entire 12 months. You’d think that would have economists dancing in the aisles, but that is not the case. Despite strong employment numbers and decent, if not spectacular, consumer spending, and […]Read More
For those who think the Federal Reserve Board only cares about interest rates, the central bank is also concerned about climate change. At least concerned enough to look at whether there could be risks to the banking system from the weather. The agency announced earlier this month a Pilot Climate Scenario Analysis Exercise, which is […]Read More
Artificial intelligence is dominating news media these days and with good reason. As a branch of computer science focused on the creation of technology that can learn to make decisions and conduct transactions on behalf of users, it is already part of the mainstream of daily life. The spell checker on your word processing software, […]Read More
Reading some official government documents can be a little like trying to decipher ancient Sanskrit. Hidden deep in the complex sentence structure and past the heavy infusion of jargon and legalese, it is possible to understand the intentions of policymakers – if you look hard enough. But the latest missive from federal banking regulators on […]Read More
Lies, Damn Lies and the Golf Ball Index Like Janus looking to both past and present, economists, analysts and a wide range of armchair financial prognosticators are showering us with predictions for the coming economic year. So how about one more? This newest bit of economic bloviation is the Golf Ball Index. It is a […]Read More
Rise and Fall of the Crypto Empire While reports of the death of cryptocurrency are at least slightly exaggerated, what still may end up being its eulogy was delivered in room G50 of the Dirksen Office Building earlier this month before the Senate Banking Committee. “The most effective way to protect both the stability of […]Read More
A Visit From the Federal Reserve Board With apologies to Clement Clarke Moore: ‘Twas the week before Christmas and all through the nation, Not a broker was stirring, no time for vacation; The stocks were invested in companies with care, In hopes that a Santa rally soon would be there. Fed policymakers were nestled all […]Read More
Welcome to the Game Show Economy While Rudolph couldn’t play any reindeer games, social media marketers and digital branding professionals want their clients’ customers to play as much as they want. Games and contests have long been a staple of marketing and advertising – from fast food restaurants creating their own versions of classic board […]Read More
Spending Our Way Out of a Recession Before it Starts The holiday shopping season is in full swing and early indications show that consumers are in a spending mood. But you wouldn’t know that from the gloomy narrative presented by the national media. Despite a record $9.1 billion in online spending on Black Friday, with […]Read More
What’s Your Holiday Shopping IQ? . Now is a good time for a quick lesson in consumer behavior. So in the spirit of that annual rite of passage for college-bound students, here is the inaugural Consumer Spending Aptitude Test or CSATs. Question 1: Complete the following sentence with the best answer. It’s the most […]Read More