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22 posts from May 2020

May 05, 2020

U.S. Consumer Debt Payments and Credit Buffers on the Eve of COVID-19



American Consumer Debt Payments and Credit Buffers on the Eve of COVID-19

Today, the New York Fed’s Center for Microeconomic Data released the Quarterly Report on Household Debt and Credit for 2020:Q1. Because consumer debt servicing statements are typically furnished to credit bureaus only once during every statement period, our snapshot of consumer credit reports as of March 31, 2020 is, in effect, largely a pre‑COVID‑19 view of the consumer balance sheet. While significant indications of the pandemic are yet to appear in our Consumer Credit Panel (CCP—the data source for the Quarterly Report, based on anonymized Equifax credit reports), we are able to observe the credit position of the American consumer just as the pandemic and associated lockdowns struck the United States.

Continue reading "U.S. Consumer Debt Payments and Credit Buffers on the Eve of COVID-19" »

Posted by Blog Author at 11:00 AM in Household Finance | Permalink | Comments (0)

May 04, 2020

W(h)ither U.S. Crude Oil Production?



W(h)ither U.S. Crude Oil Production?

People across the world have cut back sharply on travel due to the Covid-19 pandemic, working from home and cancelling vacations and other nonessential travel. Industrial activity is also off sharply. These forces are translating into an unprecedented collapse in global oil demand. The nature of the decline means that demand is unlikely to respond to the steep drop in oil prices, so supply will have to fall in tandem. The rapid increase in U.S. oil production of recent years was already looking difficult to sustain before the pandemic, as evidenced by the limited profitability of the sector. Now, U.S. producers may have to bear the brunt of the global supply adjustment needed over the near term.

Continue reading "W(h)ither U.S. Crude Oil Production?" »

Posted by Blog Author at 7:00 AM in Financial Markets, Macroecon, Pandemic | Permalink | Comments (0)

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