Chicago Fed National Financial Conditions Index (NFCI)

The St. Louis Fed’s Financial Stress Index (STLFSI) is one index that is supposed to measure stress in the financial system.  Its reading as of the October 11, 2018 update (reflecting data through October 5, 2018) is -1.263. Of course, there are a variety of other measures and indices that are supposed to measure financial stress and other …

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Disturbing Charts (Update 32)

I find the following charts to be disturbing.   These charts would be disturbing at any point in the economic cycle; that they (on average) depict such a tenuous situation now – 112 months after the official (as per the September 20, 2010 NBER BCDC announcement) June 2009 end of the recession – is especially notable. These …

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Charts Indicating Economic Weakness – October 2018

U.S. Economic Indicators Throughout this site there are many discussions of economic indicators.  At this time, the readings of various indicators are especially notable.  This post is the latest in a series of posts indicating U.S. economic weakness or a notably low growth rate. While many U.S. economic indicators – including GDP – are indicating economic growth, others …

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The October 2018 Wall Street Journal Economic Forecast Survey

The October 2018 Wall Street Journal Economic Forecast Survey was published on October 11, 2018.  The headline is “WSJ Survey:  Economists Increasingly Confident of Fed Rate Hikes.” I found numerous items to be notable – although I don’t necessarily agree with them – both within the article and in the “Economist Q&A” section. An excerpt: …

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Chicago Fed National Financial Conditions Index (NFCI)

The St. Louis Fed’s Financial Stress Index (STLFSI) is one index that is supposed to measure stress in the financial system.  Its reading as of the October 11, 2018 update (reflecting data through October 5, 2018) is -1.263. Of course, there are a variety of other measures and indices that are supposed to measure financial stress and other …

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Building Financial Danger – October 10, 2018 Update

My overall analysis indicates a continuing elevated and growing level of financial danger which contains many worldwide and U.S.-specific “stresses” of a very complex nature. I have written numerous posts in this site concerning both ongoing and recent “negative developments.”  These developments, as well as other exceedingly problematic conditions, have presented a highly perilous economic environment …

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CEO Confidence Surveys 3Q 2018 – Notable Excerpts

On October 4, 2018, The Conference Board released the 3rd Quarter Measure Of CEO Confidence.   The overall measure of CEO Confidence was at 55, down from 63 in the second quarter. [note:  a reading of more than 50 points reflects more positive than negative responses] Notable excerpts from this October 4 Press Release include: CEOs’ assessment …

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Deflation Probabilities – October 4, 2018 Update

While I do not agree with the current readings of the measure – I think the measure dramatically understates the probability of deflation, as measured by the CPI – the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta maintains an interesting data series titled “Deflation Probabilities.” As stated on the site: Using estimates derived from Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities …

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Chicago Fed National Financial Conditions Index (NFCI)

The St. Louis Fed’s Financial Stress Index (STLFSI) is one index that is supposed to measure stress in the financial system.  Its reading as of the September 27, 2018 update (reflecting data through September 21, 2018) is -1.304. Of course, there are a variety of other measures and indices that are supposed to measure financial stress and other …

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