March 3, 2020—The Federal Reserve cut their short-term interest rate target by 50 basis points to a target range of 1.0–1.25%, the lowest since December 2017, in response to the economic risk coming from the spread of the new coronavirus and the disease it causes, COVID-19. The next scheduled Fed meeting was not until two weeks from now, on March 17-18, so this was done as an emergency meeting, most likely via conference call. Emergency meetings like this are rare, but not unprecedented.
Chief Investment Officer Tony Roth and Chief Economist Luke Tilley of Wilmington Trust Investment Advisors discuss the productivity paradox. Forces such as market creation, firm strategy, consumer surplus, and progress all combine to help explain the disconnect between the productivity we see and the fact that it isn’t reflected in the economic data.
In the premier episode of Wilmington WealthWise with Tony Roth, chief investment officer of Wilmington Trust Investment Advisors, Tony welcomes Meghan Shue, head of investment strategy, as his special guest. The first and second halves of the year are going to play out in two very different ways from an investment and economic perspective.
