Succinct Summation of Week’s Events 3.1.19 (plus Celebrating Fed Independence Day)

Below please find the usual weekly summation with the credit side registering a 2.6 rise in Q4 GDP and home sales up 4.6% m/o/m, way above the 1% forecast.  The debit side is the Korean talks ending in a bust and factory orders up only 0.1%, way below 0.6% forecast.  The bonus this Sunday night is a 16 minute NPR recording detailing how the Fed obtained its independence from the White House on March 4, 1951 and why that has been a very good thing as we celebrate the 68th anniversary.  Hope everyone had a great weekend.  One more frigid ahead, then maybe spring?

Succinct Summation of Week’s Events 3.1.19

March 1, 2019 5:30pm by Barry Ritholtz

Succinct Summations for the week ending March 1st, 2019

Positives:

1. Former POTUS attorney Michael Cohen’s testifies to Congress, bringing this entire mess another step closer to ending;
2. GDP rose 2.6% for Q4, meeting high end of expectations.
3. Home mortgage apps rose 6.0% w/o/w, up from previous 1.7% rise.
4. Wholesale trade rose 1.1% m/o/m, beating the expected 0.3%.
5. Pending home sales rose 4.6% m/o/m, beating the expected 1.0%.
6. Retail inventories rose 0.9% m/o/m, while wholesale inventories rose 1.1% m/o/m.

Negatives:

1. No luck in denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula as Hanoi Summit is a bust;
2. Same store sales rose 5.2% w/o/w, decelerating from previous 5.4%.
3. Housing starts fell 11.2% m/o/m, from 1.214M to 1.078M.
4. Jobless claims rose 8k w/o/w from 217k to 225k.
5. Farm prices fell 4.5% m/o/m, down from previous 1.8% rise.
6. Factory orders rose 0.1% m/o/m, missing the expected 0.6% rise..

Sun 3-3-19 BigPic: How Fed Independence Came To Be - The Big Picture

How Fed Independence Came To Be

March 3, 2019 5:00pm by Barry Ritholtz

NPR

“In the years before 1951, the Federal Reserve took orders from the Treasury, and by extension, from the President. The President would request that interest rates remain low, and the Fed would oblige.

But this became a problem. Low interest rates are great for people to borrow money to buy stuff, and for businesses to grow and hire people. But low interest rates also drive up inflation. And a big part of the Federal Reserve’s job is to keep inflation low.

So the Fed decided it needed to reclaim its power. And on March 4, 1951 it finally did. The Fed was officially free. Sort of. On today’s show, how the Fed won its independence and then fought to defend it.”

Here is the podcast.

Planet Money #898: Happy Fed Independence Day

Source: NPR