By Holly Testa | Download the PDF Economic Overview Below is our compilation of the economic views expressed by First Affirmative’s key data providers. You may click on the links provided in the footnotes to access the complete report. “The COVID-19 shock altered the course of the global economy and ravaged financial markets, prompting policymakers to […]
“March Madness” Turns to March Sadness By Mel Miller, CFA®, Chief Economist | Download PDF As an economist, I rely on government and industry statistics to determine not only my analysis of the current economy but to formulate my forecast of the future direction of the economy. Tempering my investigation is the built-in lag time in […]
Civility On Hold By Mel Miller, CFA®, Chief Economist | Download PDF The current political environment turned even more toxic during the fourth quarter of 2019. One can only hope that historians will look back on 2019 as the low point of civility. President Trump, impeached in the House of Representatives, following partisan wrangling in what […]
Falling Leaves and Economy? By Mel Miller, CFA®, Chief Economist | Download PDF Fall is here. As I watch leaves drifting down to the ground from my office window, I have to ask whether the economy will follow a similar pattern of slowly drifting lower. The summer was a record-breaker in terms of rainfall here in […]
Record Archived By Mel Miller, CFA®, Chief Economist|Download PDF The US economy enters July having achieved the longest economic expansion in history. The economy reversed the contraction that began in July of 2004, starting at the end of the second quarter of 2009. Many have criticized the slow pace of the recovery, but having positive quarterly […]
Slowing Continues By Mel Miller, CFA® | Chief Economist The December Economic Commentary highlighted my concern that the economy might have slowed “too much.” As I share the first quarter results in this publication, I still can not answer the question. The fourth quarter Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew 2.2%. The first quarter GDP slowed […]
Economy Moderates — Too Much? By Mel Miller, CFA® | Chief Economist The third-quarter economic growth moderated from the torrid second-quarter expansion of 4.2% annualized, reflecting a healthy 3.5% growth rate. Did the pace continue to slow in the fourth quarter or did the economy rebound to the second quarter level? What is my forecast for […]
One for the Record Books By Mel Miller, CFA® | Chief Economist In spite of growing trade war tensions, especially with China, one would not expect a robust economic showing during the third quarter. Yet the economy continues the expansion that began in 2009. In fact, I want to highlight a couple of records that […]
The Geo-Political Winds of Change are Blowing By Mel Miller, CFA® | Chief EconomistDownload PDF In my first quarter Economic Commentary, I stated, “The actions taken the first quarter by the President pose the greatest long-term risk to the economy of any decisions in my lifetime.” Specifically, I shared my concern about the newly enacted […]
Economic Commentary Q2 2018
