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 16, 2014 update (reflecting data through October 10) is -1.065. Of course, there are a variety of other measures and indices that are supposed to measure financial stress and other related …

Read more

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 2, 2014 update (reflecting data through September 26) is -1.137. Of course, there are a variety of other measures and indices that are supposed to measure financial stress and other related …

Read more

October 2014 IMF Report – Probabilities Of Recession And Deflation

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) recently published the October 2014 “World Economic Outlook.” (pdf)  The subtitle is “Legacies, Clouds, Uncertainties.” One area of the report is figure 1.12 on page 14.  While I do not agree with the current readings of the three measures presented – Probability of Recession, Probability of Deflation, and the “Deflation …

Read more

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 25, 2014 update (reflecting data through September 19) is -1.189. Of course, there are a variety of other measures and indices that are supposed to measure financial stress and other related …

Read more

Money Supply Charts Through August 2014

For reference purposes, below are four charts depicting growth in the money supply. The first shows the MZM (Money Zero Maturity), defined in FRED as the following: M2 less small-denomination time deposits plus institutional money funds. Money Zero Maturity is calculated by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. Here is the “MZM Money Stock” …

Read more

Durable Goods New Orders – Long-Term Charts Through August 2014

Many people place emphasis on Durable Goods New Orders as a prominent economic indicator and/or leading economic indicator. For reference, below are charts depicting this measure. First, from the St. Louis Fed site (FRED), a chart through August, last updated on September 25, 2014.  This value is 245,433 ($ Millions) : (click on charts to …

Read more

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 18, 2014 update (reflecting data through September 12) is -1.222. Of course, there are a variety of other measures and indices that are supposed to measure financial stress and other related …

Read more

Updates Of Economic Indicators September 2014

Here is an update of various indicators that are supposed to predict and/or depict economic activity. These indicators have been discussed in previous blog posts: The September 2014 Chicago Fed National Activity Index (CFNAI)(pdf) updated as of September 22, 2014: – The ECRI WLI (Weekly Leading Index): As of September 19, 2014 (incorporating data through …

Read more

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 11, 2014 update (reflecting data through September 5) is -1.284. Of course, there are a variety of other measures and indices that are supposed to measure financial stress and other related …

Read more