Canada Economics Update US-Mexico trade deals shows compromise is possible Today’s announcement of a bilateral trade agreement is definitely good news for Mexico and the US, but could be good or very bad for Canada. More generally, it illustrates that, despite the Trump... 27th August 2018 · 1 min read
US Economics Update Markets underestimating scope for rate cuts in 2020 Both the consensus and financial markets are coming around to our view that the Fed will cut interest rates in 2020, but we still think they are underestimating how soon and how fast the Fed’s policy... 22nd August 2018 · 1 min read
US Economics Update Trump knows he can’t really influence Fed policy President Donald Trump’s recent public criticism of Fed Chair Jerome Powell is a clever attempt to pre-emptively blame the Fed and its interest rate hikes for any future downturn in the US economy... 22nd August 2018 · 1 min read
US Economics Update Monetary Indicators Monitor (Jul.) The slowdown in narrow money growth reflects the Fed’s efforts to shrink its balance sheet and the rise in interest rates, with the latter increasing the opportunity cost of holding funds in non... 21st August 2018 · 1 min read
US Economics Update EM turmoil won’t derail the Fed’s plans There is no reason to believe that the latest bout of turbulence in emerging markets will prompt the Fed to reconsider future interest rate hikes, since the economic and financial market spillovers... 21st August 2018 · 1 min read
US Economics Update Dollar’s rise won’t knock the Fed off course The near 6% rally in the dollar this year will trigger a slowdown in real export growth but, unlike the bigger dollar appreciation in 2014 and 2015, it won’t stop the Fed from continuing to hike... 17th August 2018 · 1 min read
US Economics Update Rising interest rates not a major drag on credit demand Rising interest rates appear to be weighing on mortgage demand but, for now at least, there are few signs of a sharp slowdown in consumer and business lending on the horizon. 9th August 2018 · 1 min read
US Economics Update Underlying wage pressures still building The June Job Opening and Labour Turnover survey provided more evidence that labour market conditions are tightening, which will keep wage growth on a steady upward trend. With few signs of a sustained... 7th August 2018 · 1 min read
US Economics Update Midterms 2018: What's at stake? The most likely outcome of the midterm elections is legislative gridlock, although a second round of tax cuts would be unlikely even if the Republicans narrowly maintain control of both Houses of... 7th August 2018 · 1 min read
US Economics Update Fed sticking to its guns As was widely expected, the Fed left interest rates on hold today but, by upgrading its assessment of economic growth to “strong” in the accompanying policy statement, it hinted that it will keep... 1st August 2018 · 1 min read
US Economics Update Is the saving rate really that much higher? The upward revisions to the personal saving rate suggest that the consumption outlook could be brighter than we previously believed, but we would urge caution since those revisions are hard to square... 1st August 2018 · 1 min read
US Economics Update Monetary Indicators Monitor (Jun.) Growth in the broad monetary aggregates and bank lending has continued to accelerate in recent months even as the monetary base contracted, suggesting that the Fed’s balance sheet run-down is having... 31st July 2018 · 1 min read
US Economics Update Mining boost to economic growth no flash in the pan Unlike the pre-tariff spike in soybean exports, the near-100% annualised surge in mining structures investment in the second quarter, which accounted for 0.4% points of the 4.1% annualised gain in... 30th July 2018 · 1 min read
US Economics Update Trade war cancelled…maybe The unexpectedly successful trade meeting between President Donald Trump and EU President Jean-Claude Juncker yesterday has raised hopes that a much bigger trade war can be averted. Admittedly, the... 26th July 2018 · 1 min read
US Economics Update Flattening yield curve not the only bearish signal Recent trends in the survey evidence cast doubt on the idea that the Treasury yield curve is giving a misleading signal due to structural distortions. The curve may have steepened in recent days but... 24th July 2018 · 1 min read
US Economics Update Fed’s balance sheet plans may need to change The Fed’s preference is to stick to the balance sheet normalisation plan it drew up last year, but we think a sharp economic slowdown will prompt the Fed to halt its balance sheet run-off in 2020. In... 18th July 2018 · 1 min read
