Economic & Market Watch

In the News

Economy

• President Trump announced Kevin Warsh as his pick to replace Jerome Powell, whose term as chairman of the Board of the Federal Reserve expires in May. A former Fed governor from 2006 to 2011, Warsh quit over then-chair Ben Bernanke’s use of quantitative easing.
• The president is also set to nominate economist Brett Matsumoto to head the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Matsumoto has worked as an economist at the BLS since 2015, a long-serving official without a deeply partisan record, which will likely come as a relief to economists and investors who had worried about political interference at the agency.

Markets

• West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures retreated to around $62/barrel as geopolitical risk premiums eased after President Trump said that Washington is in talks with Iran, reducing fears of near-term supply disruptions in the Middle East.
• Stocks rose to start February, with all three major indexes pushing higher. Meanwhile, commodities opened the week with high volatility as metals drastically reversed last week’s gains.

Current Events

• President Trump is set to launch a strategic critical-minerals stockpile with $12 billion in seed money to insulate manufacturers from supply shocks as the U.S. works to slash its reliance on Chinese rare earths and other metals.
• The U.S. government is once again at risk of a full shutdown. Republicans are under pressure to give final approval to a deal between President Trump and Senate Democrats that temporarily extends U.S. Department of Homeland Security funding for two weeks so the two parties can negotiate over Democratic demands to rein in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement tactics.

Meet the Team

CFC's economic research team—John Suter, Sam Kem and Antony Davies—share their expert, yet easily digestible, perspective on what you need to know.

Have feedback about the podcast? A topic you'd like the EMW team to cover? Get in touch at economicresearch@nrucfc.coop.

Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Trading Economics