Weekly Commentary

The Producer Price Index and Consumer Price Index numbers for July, scheduled for release this week, remain very important to the Federal Reserve as it reflects upon the onslaught of criticism it has received recently. The next Federal Open Market

It has been highlighted for several weeks now that the US economy may be slowing and that the Federal Reserve's dual mandate of price stability and full employment was becoming an increasing concern for investors.  Last week's employment report,

There is only a small chance that there will be many surprises in the FOMC Interest Rate decision on Wednesday, despite this writer’s hope that the interest rate cut that now seems firmly supported by the data might happen sooner rather than later.

As the Federal Reserve steps gingerly towards its next interest rate decision at the FOMC meetings scheduled for July 30-31, the data released this week will be critical.  Markets do not expect any interest rate cut in July but have begun to

You are excused if you are feeling like you have a bad case of adult-onset ADD.  It is hard to keep focused at the moment.  However, this is precisely when the "dismal science" of economics can earn its keep by reminding us that there is an economy

The U.S. economy is slowing down. Nonfarm payroll numbers for June, released last Friday, were accompanied by a downward revision in the numbers for May and April.  When combined with an increase in the unemployment rate, a deceleration in personal

Any fireworks over the next few days will likely be confined to the traditional variety, not those of an economic sort.  However, this is mainly because the cache of economic Roman candles has been seriously depleted after last week’s US Presidential

Economic measurements are, by definition, imperfect.  Sometimes, the “imperfection” is cultural, as was the case with Italy in the 1970s and 1980s, when most businesses kept two sets of books and only showed one to the government monitors.  The

As expected, the decision by the European Central Bank (ECB) last week to cut its benchmark interest rate to 3.75% from 4% establishes considerable creative tension for the June 12 meeting of the US Federal Open Market Committee meeting.  Heightening

Important data early in the week on Chinese manufacturing and services will have to serve as entertainment while markets await the real action of both the European Central Bank interest rate decision on Thursday and the US employment numbers on