Keating’s CyberColumn

by Raymond J. Keating –  The latest manufacturing PMI from the Institute of Supply Management estimated that the decline in manufacturing persisted, while the overall economy continued to expand in September. The ISM’s manufacturing PMI came in at 49.1 percent in September, which was up by 0.4-percentage points compared to August’s reading of 48.7 percent. September […]

by Raymond J. Keating – As politicians say silly things, it pays to keep some essentials of economics in mind – and that includes on inflation. For example, as Milton Friedman taught, inflation ultimately is a monetary phenomenon. While other factors, of course, come into play, loose money is needed to trigger inflation, that is, […]

by Raymond J. Keating – In its latest report, the Federal Reserve reported that U.S. total industrial production inched forward by 0.1 percent in August. That included manufacturing production gaining 0.2 percent, mining up by 0.9 percent, and utilities declining by 2.0 percent. One of the benefits of looking at industrial production data is that […]

by Raymond J. Keating – The Institute for Supply Management’s manufacturing PMI pointed to continued contraction in manufacturing in the U.S., while the services PMI indicated growth in August. As for manufacturing, the sector contracted for the sixth consecutive month in August, after two months of expansion in January and February of this year. Prior […]

by Raymond J. Keating –  Two reports from the Federal Reserve seem to be saying: Hey, things could be worse. Well, of course, that would be technically true about any read on the economy. In this case, though, the point seems to be that the economy isn’t as bad as some previous reads might have […]

by Raymond J. Keating –  Elected officials in the state of Washington are working hard to move the state away from offering one of the most pro-growth state tax systems in the nation. The state still has two big plusses working in its favor, that is, the state imposes no general personal income tax and […]

by Raymond J. Keating – Consumers aren’t a happy bunch these days. That was, once again, evident in the latest read of The Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence Index. The overall index declined by 7.2 points in March to 92.9 (1985=100). That was the fourth consecutive month of declines. As for the two subsets, it was […]

by Raymond J. Keating – Given the negative connotations of the phrase “tax loophole,” when is a “tax loophole” not a “tax loophole” at all? Quite simply, when the so-called “tax loophole” actually makes sense from a tax policy and economic perspective. (Yes, most of the tax code ignores economic common sense, but that’s a […]

by Raymond J. Keating – Industrial production, or the physical output of the manufacturing, mining and utility sectors free from price changes, finished 2024 on a strong note. Overall industrial production grew by 0.9 percent in December, according to the latest report from the Federal Reserve, after a 0.2 percent increase in November. As for […]

by Raymond J. Keating – The Federal Open Market Committee announced another cut in the federal funds rate on Wednesday, December 18. The rate was reduced by a quarter-point to the range of 4.25 percent to 4.5 percent. As for the direction of monetary policy, the Fed stated: “In considering the extent and timing of […]