Carl Bonham
Stronger than Expected Employment Report
1. THE US BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS RELEASED ITS MONTHLY EMPLOYMENT REPORT THIS MORNING AND REPORTED ANOTHER DECREASE IN THE US UNEMPLOYMENT RATE? Yes, this was a better jobs report than most economists expected. The consensus was for 135,000 jobs to be created in January and the total nonfarm job count posted an increase of […]
Read MoreGDP Release Adds to Speculation of Further Fed Easing
Q1. THERE HAS BEEN A LARGE AMOUNT OF ECONOMIC NEWS THIS WEEK, CAN YOU SUMMARIZE WHERE THINGS STAND? A1. This was a busy week. On Tuesday we found out that Hawaii’s unemployment rate rose to 6.6% in December; on Wednesday the Federal Reserve released their forecast for the US economy and new forecasts of what […]
Read MoreQ & A: Council on Revenues Lowers Forecast for FY2012
1. THE COUNCIL ON REVENUES MET YESTERDAY AND LOWERED ITS FORECAST FOR STATE TAX REVENUES FOR 2012. HOW MUCH WAS THE REVISION, AND WHY DID YOU LOWER THE FORECAST. In the September meeting last year, the Council had forecast tax revenues would grow by 14.5% from FY2011 to FY2012. The council decided to lower its […]
Read MoreQ & A: Super Committee Decisions Due Next Week
1. WE HAVE BEEN HEARING ABOUT THE SUPER COMMITTEE AND THEIR WORK ON A DEFICIT REDUCTION PLAN DUE NEXT WEDNESDAY. WHAT IS THE SUPER COMMITTEE? The Super Committee is the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction that was established by deal reached last July to raise the federal debt ceiling. That deal called for reducing […]
Read MoreUS economy reaches pre-recession peak
Almost four years after the start of the great recession total output of goods and services in the US has surpassed its pre-recession peak. The Bureau of Economic Analysis first estimate of Q3 2011 real GDP (in 2005 dollars) was $13,352.8 billion, just slightly higher than the $13,326.0 billion in Q4 2007. After falling by […]
Read MoreUHERO Executive Director Elected to AUBER Board
UHERO Executive Director and Associate Professor of Economics Carl Bonham has been elected to the Board of Directors of AUBER—the Association for University Business and Economic Research. AUBER is a professional association of business and economic research centers in public and private universities. Founded in 1947, it strives to unite its members in the shared purpose of advancing economic […]
Read MoreQ&A: Fed Act to Lower Mortgage Rates
1. THE FEDERAL RESERVE MET FOR A TWO DAY MEETING ON TUESDAY AND WEDNESDAY. AFTER THEIR MEETING, THE STOCK MARKET FELL SHARPLY WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON AND THURSDAY. WHAT DID THEY DO! The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) met on Tuesday and Wednesday to discuss the state of the US economy and to decide on monetary policy […]
Read MoreFed acts to lower mortgage rates
The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) met on Tuesday and Wednesday to discuss the state of the US economy and to decide on monetary policy actions. This meeting is a particularly interesting meeting because of the clear signs of economic weakness over the past six months and the relatively new phenomena of the direct political […]
Read MoreIn Weak Economy the Fed is prepared to act
The US Bureau of Economic Analysis released a downward revision to its estimate of second quarter Gross Domestic Product this morning. They now estimate that the US economy expanded at a 1.0% annualized rate during the second quarter, down from 1.3% in their advance release The primary factors leading to the downward revision were a decline in […]
Read More