Eye On Housing
Consumer credit outstanding grew by a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 7.5%, $257.7 billion, in the third quarter of 2015, 1.0 percentage point slower than the 8.5% rate of growth recorded in the second quarter of 2015. Consumer credit outstanding now totals $3.499 trillion. The increase in total consumer credit outstanding partly reflected an expansion in the outstanding amount of… Read More ›
The statement following the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy setting committee, the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), October meeting surprised few by not announcing an interest rate increase. Few analysts expected a move at this meeting. However, a significant development came in the form of the language referring to the timing of the first rate increase. “In determining how long to… Read More ›
The Federal Reserve Board recently reported that consumer credit outstanding rose by a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.6%, $192.2 billion, in August 2015, slower than the 6.6% rate of growth recorded in July and the 9.6% growth rate in June. Consumer credit outstanding is now at $3.470 trillion. The expansion of total consumer credit outstanding partly reflected an increase in… Read More ›
The minutes from the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy setting committee, the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), September meeting provide a more detailed view of the committee’s concerns and deliberations regarding global economic and financial developments, and the decision to wait before beginning the process of raising interest rates. Concerns focused on the impact that a global economic slowdown, notably China,… Read More ›
The Federal Reserve’s monetary policy setting committee, the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), concluded its September meeting announcing no increase in the federal funds rate. Global economic and financial uncertainty was the reason to wait. Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen explained the decision in her post-meeting press conference. The domestic economic recovery is shaping up nicely. Economic and payroll employment… Read More ›
The minutes from the July meeting of the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy setting arm, the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), provide some detail on the most recent round of deliberations addressing the question: Is the economic recovery strong enough to begin the process of monetary policy normalization? The committee members were in agreement that much progress has been made over… Read More ›
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported consumer prices increased in July. The Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.6%, slower than 3.9% in June. Excluding the volatile food and energy components, the “core” CPI rose at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.6% in July. Energy prices were stabilized and rose at a… Read More ›
The Federal Reserve Board recently reported that consumer credit outstanding grew by a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 7.0%, $234.5 billion, in the second quarter of 2015, 1.4 percentage points faster than the 5.6% rate of growth recorded in the first quarter of 2015. Consumer credit outstanding now totals $3.422 trillion. The increase in total consumer credit outstanding partly reflected an expansion… Read More ›
Credit standards on applications for land development and construction loans or credit lines tightened on net, albeit slightly, over the second quarter of 2015. According to the most recent iteration of the Federal Reserve Board’s Senior Loan Officer Opinion Survey, a net share of 1.4% of senior bank respondents reported that lending standards at their respective bank tightened over the… Read More ›
At 2:00 pm today the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy setting committee, the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), concluded its July meeting and released the standard post-meeting statement. Let the reading of the tea leaves begin. Analysts’ expectations for the meeting were for no major changes and the FOMC delivered: marginal changes in the assessment of economic conditions (more later), no… Read More ›