2 min readOutgoing Treasury Secretary Mnuchin announced in late November that he would allow certain Federal Reserve relief programs to expire at the end of the year. Federal Reserve officials had publicly urged Mnuchin to extend all emergency programs but ultimately conceded and will close several of the facilities this month. The Fed also announced on Monday…
5 min readThe 2020 election was an arduous and, in some ways, incredible process, with the unprecedented number of mail-in ballots resulting in record turnout, but also a significant delay in announcing the winner. Nevertheless, we know that Joe Biden will be the next President of the United States come January. In all likelihood he will face…
2 min readA Momentous Week All eyes are on the United States as Election Day finally arrives and a bitterly contentious campaign cycle draws to a close. An estimated 100 million early votes were cast in advance of Election Day and the country appears to be heading for a record presidential election turnout. The focus now shifts…
2 min readFed officials are committed to the current level of rates until inflation exceeds 2% Several Fed officials spoke in late September on the timing of future interest rate hikes in relation to the inflation target of 2%. Chicago Fed President Evans reversed his earlier position that the Fed could start raising rates before inflation reaches…
2 min readApril Unemployment Report Shows Record Job Losses The April unemployment report released on May 1st reflected a loss of over 20 million jobs, and an unemployment rate over 14%. The number of newly unemployed in April wiped out the last decade of job gains, and the unemployment rate easily beat the previous 10.8% high recorded…
5 min readBrexit has been delayed until Halloween, a fitting deadline for what has turned into a three-year nightmare for the British populace. UK Prime Minister Theresa May had pushed for a shorter extension, out until the end of June, in hopes that the UK would not have to participate in the upcoming EU elections. However, it…
26 min readDOWNLOAD FULL REPORT Abstract With the March 29th deadline for the UK to leave the European Union looming, there is still no decision about how the departure will be managed. In the two years since a referendum forced the UK government to trigger Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty indicating their intention to leave the…
5 min readThe longest government shutdown in history is already having a significant impact on the economy. Equally important, but less well understood, is the potential impact on negotiations over the March 1 deadline to raise the U.S. debt ceiling. As President Trump has continued to insist on a $5.7 billion allocation towards construction of a border…
2 min readIn the midst of the recent saber rattling over a potential trade war between the U.S. and China, one salient point has often been overlooked: so far, other than narrowly focused tariffs on steel and aluminum, neither side has taken immediate concrete steps to act on the announcements. The recent tit-for-tat threats from the Trump…
4 min readAbstract Trade tensions between the U.S. and China have been making headlines recently. The Trump administration recently rolled out plans to place 25% tariffs on $50 billion of Chinese imports, to which China responded in kind. In the near-term, tensions may continue to escalate, but ultimately a negotiated settlement is in the best interests of…