The Real Economy Blog

Economic News from RSM

Joseph Brusuelas, Chief Economist and Principal, RSM US LLP

@JoeBrusuelas

Joe Brusuelas, “chief economist to the middle market,” is the preeminent voice championing issues and policies facing midsize companies in the United States and around the world. An award-winning economist, Brusuelas has more than 20 years’ experience analyzing U.S. monetary policy, labor markets, fiscal policy, international finance, economic indicators and the condition of the U.S. consumer.

A member of the Wall Street Journal’s forecasting panel and the UCLA Anderson School of Management's Board of Directors, Brusuelas regularly briefs members of Congress and other senior officials regarding the impacts of federal policy on the middle market and the factors by which middle market executives make business decisions. He also frequently offers his insights on the U.S., Canadian and global economies in the financial media. In 2020, he was named one of the 100 most influential economists by Richtopia. In December 2023, Brusuelas and the economics team were recognized on Bloomberg's list of Best Bond Forecasters after correctly predicting where the benchmark Treasury would end the year.

Before joining RSM in 2014, Brusuelas spent four years as a senior economist at Bloomberg L.P. and the Bloomberg Briefs newsletter group, where he co-founded the award-winning Bloomberg Economic Brief. Earlier in his career, he was a director at Moody's Analytics covering the U.S. and global economies for the Dismal Scientist website. He also served as chief economist at Merk Investments L.L.C. and chief U.S. economist at IDEAglobal.

FOMC preview: Policy rate moving higher as Fed may prepare to slow pace of price stability campaign

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We expect the Federal Reserve to increase its policy rate by 75 basis points to a range of 3.75%-4% when it publishes its policy decision on Nov. 2. Fed Chair Jerome Powell will almost surely utilize the press conference following the FOMC meeting to note that at one point it will make sense to slow the pace of rate hikes as the central bank ascertains the lagged impact of past rate hikes on the real economy. This will be paired with the text of the policy statement, where the Fed will likely retain language stating “that ongoing increases in the target rate will be appropriate.” … READ MORE >

Inflation persists as spending rebounds strongly in September

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Friday’s macro data drop continued to require the Federal Reserve to have its foot on the pedal: while inflation data came out slightly better than expected, the key wage inflation metric—the employment cost index—remained elevated, according to the Labor Department. On top of that, spending was much better than expected in September together with an upward revision to August’s print. That means the economy can absorb more monetary tightening. … READ MORE >

U.S. Q3 GDP: 2.6% growth overstates economic activity as probable recession looms

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“Sound and fury signifying nothing” is an apt description of the 2.6% (1.8% year-over-year) seasonally adjusted annualized rate of growth in the third quarter of 2022. Excluding trade and inventories, real final sales to domestic private purchasers increased at an anemic 0.1%, which underscores our estimate of an elevated 65% probability of a recession over the next 12 months. … READ MORE >

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