The market-moving event this week was delivered by the Federal Reserve / FOMC meeting statement which most are interpreting as an end to further rate increases. The good news this week was the end of the government shutdown - and three missed data sets were issued.
Many elements in the economy are declining, and others are improving - but overall the short term trend beginning in September 2018 has been downward.
But unless the economy noticeably improves, we are at the end of the current round of federal funds rate increases. Why risk further increases when the Fed could be blamed for killing the economy by tightening monetary policy further?
Economic Releases This Past Week
The Econintersect Economic Index for February 2019 insignificantly declined, and remains below territory associated with normal expansions. The question remains whether this downward trend will continue. Note, our index is built on data sets which were not affected by the government shutdown - and it is most likely that other recent economic forecasts you have seen fudged the missing data. A forecast with fudged data is simply a guesstimate.
The following table summarizes the more significant economic releases this past week. For more detailed analysis - please visit our landing page which provides links to our complete analyses.
This week the data is mixed but predominately showing a slowing economy.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
