U.S. Economic News
February 22, 2018
U.S. Economic Indicators
Initial jobless claims fell 7,000 to 222,000 last week. The four-week moving average decreased 2,250 to 226,000. DOL Report
U.S. News
The Wall Street Journal reports that Federal Reserve Vice Chair Randal Quarles believes that the Fed should continue to gradually raise interest rates over the course of 2018. Quarles also said that the U.S. economy appears to be performing well and that monetary policy remains accommodative, which could mean that the “investment drought” that has afflicted the U.S. in recent years may be lifting. WSJ
Harriet Torry of the Wall Street Journal writes that a new study from the McKinsey Global Institute shows that the adoption of new technologies may cause U.S. productivity growth to rebound in coming years. The study shows that the widespread adoption of new technologies can take decades, meaning that the productivity benefits of digitization may still take years to be realized. WSJ