Recent concerns about the reliability of economic data from federal agencies are leading many businesses to rely on private label economic data, writes RSM US Chief Economist Joe Brusuelas in the October issue of The Real Economy.
The concerns about data from federal agencies stem in part from lagging response times in government surveys, particularly in the monthly jobs data, which have led to substantial revisions months later.
Also in this issue, Brusuelas looks at the impact of the U.S. Treasury’s decision to favor short-term Treasury bills over long-term notes as a way to finance the debt. While it reduces interest payments on the government’s expanding debt, it also is creating a liquidity squeeze in the money markets.
Amid all these changes, financial conditions remain resilient in the American economy, Brusuelas writes, with the RSM US Financial Conditions Index showing a moderate level of accommodation in the financial markets.
