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The Trade-Weighted Broad US Dollar Index Hits the Highest Level since 2002 A strong dollar leads to wider trade deficits, and this is a headwind for US exporters. A strong dollar can also hurt emerging markets. The trade-weighted broad US Dollar index is a weighted average of the foreign exchange value of the US dollar against…

Why Are U.S. Banks Healthier Than Ever? U.S. banks are much stronger than ever. They have more capital and should withstand the next recession. See Fed’s annual stress test (Dodd-Frank Act Stress Tests): “The capital levels of the firms after the hypothetical severe global recession are higher than the actual capital levels of large banks…

Are We Near a Recession? “The leading index for each state predicts the six-month growth rate of the state’s coincident index. In addition to the coincident index, the models include other variables that lead the economy: state-level housing permits (1 to 4 units), state initial unemployment insurance claims, delivery times from the Institute for Supply…

Why Do Eurozone Bond Investors Accept Zero Long-Term Interest Rates? Because they have a deflationary view of the euro area economy. Now, investors are losing so much money just by holding German bonds in real terms (adjusted for inflation). Today, the Germany 10-Year bond yield hits 0% again. Keep in mind that raising interest rates in…

Why Potential GDP Has Been Cut in Half Since the 1950’s? The main reason is a lower productivity than previous business cycles, due to: – lower population growth – the service sector is growing faster than the industry sector – lower quality jobs in the service sector have a lower productivity than in the industrial…

Does Surging Oil Prices Cause Recession? Historically, a rise oil prices can cause recession because high inflation tends to lead to higher interest rates. But nowadays, oil shale production in the US limits the rise in oil prices and makes it possible to avoid a future crisis like the one in 2008.