Let Janet Yellen Tell You How It Really Is

Janet Yellen is the first woman to hold the position as Chair of the Federal Reserve and is making waves; not only having increased the key interest rate for the first time since 2006, but in her logical, simplistic & informative explanations of the US economy as well. In May of 2015 the Chairwoman addressed the Providence Chamber of Commerce with a predicted outlook for the US economy. She started off talking about how since the recession in 2008, the economy has made significant gains and is regaining its strength, however there was still work to be done regarding the Continue reading Let Janet Yellen Tell You How It Really Is

Relationship between Oil Prices and Inflation

Economists in the past 20 years have examined the relationship between oil prices and inflation. The common finding has been one of “limited” or “modest” correlation between these two variables. Michele Cavallo wrote on this topic in the FRBSF Economic Letter and made the observation that in the “1970s and early 1980s, rising oil prices were accompanied by double-digit overall inflation in the U.S. and in several other developed economies.” There were studies conducted using data from 1960-2000 and the results were ambiguous as they showed a strong relationship between oil prices and inflation only before 1981. But since 2000 Continue reading Relationship between Oil Prices and Inflation