As are all import prices.
Figure 1: Log import prices of non-petroleum goods (blue), and of goods imports from China (red), all normalized to 2014M06=0. Source: BLS via FRED, author’s calculations.
US Financial Conditions and Emerging Market Stress: The Outlook
From NYT:
…around the globe, the surge in the dollar is provoking financial jitters.
Emerging market countries and corporations that have been binging on cheap dollar debt for more than a decade now face a spike in servicing costs and elevated debt burdens.
Wisconsin GDP Trending Sideways
Quarterly state GDP figures for the second quarter were released yesterday. Estimated Wisconsin GDP is flat relative to 2015Q4; 2016Q1 GDP was revised down by 1.7%.
Raise the Yuan! Implications for the Treasury Spread
Some back-of-the-envelope calculations: If we get what President Elect Trump says he wants — no depreciation of the yuan — what happens to the Treasury 10 year-3 month spread?
Guest Contribution: “The Yellen Rules”
Today, we are pleased to present a guest contribution written by Alex Nikolsko-Rzhevskyy, Associate Professor of Economics at Lehigh University, David Papell and Ruxandra Prodan, respectively Professor and Clinical Associate Professor of Economics at the University of Houston.
Manufacturing Employment and Three Episodes of Dollar Appreciation
Mark Thoma comments on the impact of the likely dollar appreciation:
A stronger dollar will make imports cheaper for American consumers…The U.S. economy is now strengthening and approaching full employment, but it’s not quite there yet. So I expect the stronger dollar to have some employment effects, but I don’t expect them to be substantial…
President Elect Trump Hints at Bretton Woods III
Via Twitter, yesterday afternoon:
Factors in low real interest rates
The real return on long-term government bonds has dropped steadily over the last 30 years, falling from values around 4% to something closer to zero or even negative for many countries today. What accounts for this remarkable development, and what are the prospects for this situation to continue?
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Guest Contribution: “Shadow Rates, Forward Guidance, and Unconventional Monetary Policy”
Today we are pleased to present a guest contribution by Yi Zhang, Ph.D. candidate at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. This post draws upon this paper.
The “Deindustrialization of America”, in Pictures
From Donald J. Trump, March 14, 2016:
…under decades of failed leadership, the United States has gone from being the globe’s manufacturing powerhouse — the envy of the world — through a rapid deindustrialization…