U.S. Economic News
September 24, 2018
U.S. Economic Indicators
The Chicago Fed National Activity Index fell was unchanged at +0.18 in August. The production and sales components made positive contributions while the employment and personal consumption & housing components contributed negatively. Chicago Fed Report
U.S. News
Tom Fairless of the Wall Street Journal writes that central bankers around the world are reconsidering the classic 2% inflation target. Some policymakers are calling for a higher inflation target that would allow central banks more room to cut interest rates in the event of an economic downturn, while others argue that a higher inflation target could distort tax systems or cause more price volatility. WSJ
The Wall Street Journal reports that the U.S. has exempted several obscure Chinese imports from tariffs because China remains one of the only sources for those goods. Imports such as barite, which is used in oil and gas exploration, and fluorine salts, an input for lithium-ion batteries, have been spared from the new 10% tariff because Chinese imports account for such a large share of these imported goods. WSJ