The Bureau of Economic Analysis reported today that U.S. real GDP grew at a 0.6% annual rate in the fourth quarter of 2007, a weaker report than many of us had been expecting.
Author Archives: James_Hamilton
Betting on recession
There was also some interesting action on the Intrade betting exchange this week.
Another day, another dollar
It was a fun day to be a macroeconomist, don’t you think?
The Fed makes its move
The Federal Reserve announced today it was lowering its target for the fed funds rate 75 basis points, from its previous value of 4.25% to a new value of 3.5%.
The case against fiscal stimulus
Everybody else seemed to hear Bernanke say he was in favor of fiscal stimulus as one approach to our economic problems. But I instead heard him articulate very intelligently the potential pitfalls of the strategy.
Will inflation fears restrain the Fed?
I think not, and here’s why.
December retail sales
Disappointing yes, but the financial press is getting a little carried away.
How low will Ben go?
Was 25, now we have 50. Do I hear 75?
Mortgage securitization
I thought it might be helpful to summarize some of the background on how we got into our present mortgage mess.
Ongoing slump in autos
The weak performance of auto sales continues, with a new twist.