Rafael Nam
👤 SpeakerAppearances Over Time
Podcast Appearances
But that inflation report will be the only government data the Fed will have for now as the shutdown continues.
That means the Fed is in a bit of a blind period as it navigates an uncertain economy.
AI will also be the main focus this week as a bunch of big tech companies such as Meta and Alphabet, the parent company of Google, report their latest quarterly results.
On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve is expected to lower interest rates by a quarter percentage point, delivering its second consecutive cut.
That's after data last week showed inflation running slightly lower than expected.
But that inflation report will be the only government data the Fed will have for now as the shutdown continues.
That means the Fed is in a bit of a blind period as it navigates an uncertain economy.
AI will also be the main focus this week as a bunch of big tech companies such as Meta and Alphabet, the parent company of Google, report their latest quarterly results.
The government has paused all economic data, but is making one exception.
The Labor Department will report the latest inflation data on Friday.
The reason for the exception is that every year the Social Security Administration uses the inflation data for July, September, and October to determine what's called the Cost of Living Adjustment, or COLA.
Like the full name implies, COLA determines how much Social Security benefits need to be adjusted for the following year.
That also means the Federal Reserve will at least have this critical data before its policy meeting later this month.
The Federal Reserve is an independent government agency that is not impacted by the shutdown.
But Fed officials will no longer have access to government data in a critical period for the economy.
The Fed lowered interest rates at its last policy meeting in September and will need to decide what to do next later this month.
Investors will be keen to see what the Fed officials make of the economy at a time when they may be flying partly blind with only access to data from non-government sources.