On April 8, 2009 I wrote the following…
I will say it again now. Expect the FOMC to revise their 2010 growth expectations lower in the coming months.
Today’s issuance of the FOMC minutes proved me correct once again. The Federal Reserve has revised future growth downward yet again.
Under the Fed’s new projections, the economy will shrink between 1.3 and 2 percent. The old forecast said the economy could contract between 0.5 and 1.3 percent and also stated they now expect unemployment to reach nearly 10% (these are the same people who said last fall that this was ‘highly unlikely’). The unemployment rate may rise as high as 9.6 percent, higher than the old forecast of 8.8 percent. The jobless rate is currently at 8.9 percent (April report), the highest in a quarter-century.
Top Secret
On another matter, the Fed policymakers continued to resist calls from lawmakers on Capitol Hill to reveal the identities of banks and other financial institutions that draw emergency loans and participate in other Fed credit programs. Fed policymakers said such disclosure would be viewed “as a sign of financial weakness” and that the “resulting stigma would undermine the effectiveness” of the programs, which are intended to promote financial stability and economic recovery.
Recent Posts:
- Economic Data and Earnings Schedule for July 27 2010
- Dallas Fed Manufacturing Index – Drops to Lowest Level Since July 2009
- Economic Data and Earnings Schedule for July 26, 2010
- Is The United States Worthy of a AAA Sovereign Rating?
- Crude Oil Market Summary 7/19/2010 to 07/23/2010
- Economic Data and Earnings Schedule for July 23, 2010
