Goldman Sachs chief economist Jan Hatzius proposes designing a new Financial Conditions Index (FCI).

Chanel Holden

2018-07-19 18:38:00 Thu ET

Goldman Sachs chief economist Jan Hatzius proposes designing a new Financial Conditions Index (FCI) to be a weighted-average of interest rates, exchange rates, stock prices, and credit spreads. Each weight corresponds to the direct marginal contribution of each macro variate to real GDP economic growth. Hatzius amends a New Keynesian macroeconomic model to embed an FCI in a Taylor monetary policy rule that induces the central bank to ease the FCI when either inflation or employment falls below mandate-consistent thresholds. This macroeconometric analysis suggests an FCI-driven policy rule for maintaining the neutral interest rate that better contains inflation near full employment.

The Trump administration's chief economic advisor Larry Kudlow engages in a hot and healthy debate with several economists who warn of an economic recession that might arise from the Sino-American trade war with higher U.S. budget deficits and tax cuts. Kudlow advocates the optimistic outlook for the U.S. economy in light of both robust employment and 3.5%-4% real GDP growth in mid-2018. Moreover, Kudlow even emphasizes that the current U.S. economic boom may continue until 2022-2024.

In contrast, some other eminent economists such as Mark Zandi (Moody's chief economist) and Ken Griffin (Citadel CEO) are less optimistic about the current U.S. economic boom. Zandi shares his fresh insight that the Federal Reserve continues its interest rate hike to dampen inflationary pressure until a recession occurs early in the next decade. Griffin considers a murkier outlook that the Trump tax cuts may have pulled forward both consumer and business demand.

The current economic boom is the second-longest in U.S. history and thus may or may not sustain in the next decade. Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin reiterates America’s long-term credible commitment to maintaining a strong greenback with minimal risk of a currency war. In accordance with Mnuchin's recent remarks after the G20 summit of finance ministers, Mnuchin needs to dismiss the arcane idea of U.S. dollar intervention.  

On balance, the U.S. Treasury and Federal Reserve can consider the new FCI in order to make better and wiser economic policy decisions.

 


If any of our AYA Analytica financial health memos (FHM), blog posts, ebooks, newsletters, and notifications etc, or any other form of online content curation, involves potential copyright concerns, please feel free to contact us at service@ayafintech.network so that we can remove relevant content in response to any such request within a reasonable time frame.

Blog+More

Former Fed Chair Alan Greenspan discerns asset bubbles in the American stock and bond markets in early-2018.

Jonah Whanau

2018-01-21 07:25:00 Sunday ET

Former Fed Chair Alan Greenspan discerns asset bubbles in the American stock and bond markets in early-2018.

As he refrains from using the memorable phrase *irrational exuberance* to assess bullish investor sentiments, former Fed chairman Alan Greenspan discerns as

+See More

Warwick macroeconomic expert Roger Farmer proposes paying for social welfare programs with no tax hikes.

Jonah Whanau

2019-07-05 09:32:00 Friday ET

Warwick macroeconomic expert Roger Farmer proposes paying for social welfare programs with no tax hikes.

Warwick macroeconomic expert Roger Farmer proposes paying for social welfare programs with no tax hikes. The U.S. government pension and Medicare liabilitie

+See More

The Internet and telecom conglomerate SoftBank Group raises $23 billion in the biggest IPO in Japan.

Chanel Holden

2018-12-21 11:39:00 Friday ET

The Internet and telecom conglomerate SoftBank Group raises $23 billion in the biggest IPO in Japan.

The Internet and telecom conglomerate SoftBank Group raises $23 billion in the biggest IPO in Japan. Going public is part of the major corporate move away f

+See More

President Trump praises great unity and progress at the G7 summit.

Rose Prince

2019-09-21 09:25:00 Saturday ET

President Trump praises great unity and progress at the G7 summit.

President Trump praises great unity and progress at the G7 summit with respect to Sino-U.S. trade conflict resolution, global climate change, containment fo

+See More

President Trump approves a phase one trade agreement with China.

Joseph Corr

2020-01-01 13:39:00 Wednesday ET

President Trump approves a phase one trade agreement with China.

President Trump approves a phase one trade agreement with China. This approval averts the introduction of new tariffs on Chinese imports. In return, China s

+See More

Geopolitical alignment often reshapes and reinforces asset market fragmentation in the broader context of financial deglobalization.

Olivia London

2025-07-01 13:35:00 Tuesday ET

Geopolitical alignment often reshapes and reinforces asset market fragmentation in the broader context of financial deglobalization.

In recent times, financial deglobalization and asset market fragmentation can cause profound public policy implications for trade, finance, and technology w

+See More