The financial market response to this week’s decision by the Fed to lower its policy rate by 50 basis points suggests that investors are uncertain about what that decision might mean for the economic outlook. Longer-term US bond yields, for example, climbed a little (chart 1) while stock markets ended lower on the day though have since re-traced those losses. This uncertainty arguably underscores the great difficulty in calibrating monetary policy and in communicating subsequent intentions at present. As we discuss below, investors remain highly sensitive to incoming data, partly because monetary policy calibration has been equally data-dependent. And the fact that both growth and inflation data have been consistently undershooting expectations has amplified concerns that US (and global) monetary policy has remained too tight for too long (see charts 2 and 3). Still, there are currently very few macroeconomic indicators signalling a high likelihood of an imminent US recession. Equally—and more concerning—latest wage data suggest that labour markets could still be tight (charts 4 and 5). Beyond these cyclical challenges, a debate about where growth and inflation will ultimately stabilize has also been active, with significant uncertainty about what might be considered a “normal” level for nominal and real interest rates. Factors such as ageing demographics, climate change and the energy transition, together with ongoing geopolitical uncertainty are shaping that debate. But how trend productivity growth now evolves will also be key to this and crucial to monitor in the period ahead as well (chart 6).
- USA| Sep 19 2024
U.S. Leading Indicators Weaken in August
- Component movement in leading index is mixed.
- Coincident indicators rebound.
- Lagging indicators hold steady.
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
- USA| Sep 19 2024
U.S. Existing Home Sales Fell in August
- Second lowest level since October 2010.
- Sales fell in the South, West, and Northeast, while the Midwest registered no change.
- The median price fell for the second consecutive month, but from a record high in June.
by:Sandy Batten
|in:Economy in Brief
- USA| Sep 19 2024
U.S. Philadelphia Fed Index Moves Up in September
- Current General Activity Index remains down sharply in Q3.
- New orders & shipments fall, but employment improves.
- Inflation indicators jump.
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
- USA| Sep 19 2024
U.S. Current Account Deficit Widened Markedly in Q2 2024
- Second largest deficit on record.
- Goods deficit key factor, widening by more than $20 billion.
- Services surplus essentially unchanged.
by:Sandy Batten
|in:Economy in Brief
- USA| Sep 19 2024
U.S. Jobless Claims Declined in the September 14 Week
- Initial claims declined by 12,000 in the week ended September 14.
- Continued claims declined by 14,000 in the week ended September 7.
- Insured unemployment rate still at 1.2%.
Car registrations in Europe are plunging and they're plunging pretty much everywhere where the data are being reported. One of the reasons for this is the sudden lack of popularity in electric vehicles, whose purchase demand has declined precipitously.
Country level data show that declines in registrations in August range from a month-to-month decline of 11.8% in Germany, to declines of 2.6% each in France and the United Kingdom. Germany, France, Italy, and Spain show substantial month-to-month declines in August and in July. Only the U.K. is an exception to this two-month losing streak; the U.K. 2.6% decline in registrations in August comes after a 3.9% increase in registrations in July.
Year-over-year total European registrations are down by 20.6%; smoothing this to look at declines over a three-month average reduces the drop to 6.6%; however, whether we look at raw declines or smoothed declines, the declines are generally getting bigger over shorter periods. The smooth declines, for example, moved from a 6.6% decline over 12 months to a 9.9% annualized decline over six months to a 10.9% annual rate of decline over three months. The annualized rate of decline is growing. The raw number for the year-over-year decline is a drop of 20.6% over 12 months, over six months that decline pace accelerates to 28.1% annualized, although there is a slight pullback showing a decline of 24.4% over three months; it's still a greater pace of decline than over 12 months.
The country level data show us that year-over-year declines range from exceptionally weak numbers like -27.6% in Germany and -21.1% in France, to more modest declines like -2.1% in the U.K. and -5.9% in Spain. However, all five reporting countries show year-over-year declines and of course the aggregate numbers presented are dismal.
If we compare what's going on with registrations now to the level of registrations before COVID struck, we're looking at double-digit declines. Raw net decline calculations round to double-digit declines for all five countries. The biggest shortfall from January 2020 levels is the U.K. that is 25.5% lower; however, Germany is also 23% lower, Italian registrations are about 21% lower, registration in France are 14% lower, while in Spain registrations are 9.5% lower.
- USA| Sep 18 2024
FOMC Lowers Funds Rate Target by 50 Basis Points
- Funds rate target range was lowered to 4.75% to 5.0% after being held steady at 5.25% to 5.5% since August 2023.
- Fed maintains focus on inflation reduction.
- Moderation of labor market strength & progress toward 2% inflation goal again is noted.
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
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