What we’re reading (12/3)
“Can the Fed Overcome Its Transitory Policy Mistake?” (Mohamed El-Erian, Project Syndicate). “Many rightly note that the Fed does not have the tools to unblock supply chains or increase labor-force participation. But if the Fed had maintained even longer this transitory inflation mindset, it risked unleashing another strong driver of future price increases – that of unanchored inflation expectations. And while this would not mean a return to the double-digit inflation rates of the 1970s, it would result in the persistence of inflation rates significantly above what the economy and financial markets are safely wired for.”
“3 Jobs Trends To Look Out For Next Year” (CNN Business). “Expect strong job growth in 2022, unless Omicron hits hard…[l]abor shortages and rapid wage growth will continue…[r]emote work's impact may be bigger than expected[.]”
“America Is Running On Fumes” (The Atlantic). “If you believe in the virtue of novelty, these are disturbing trends. Today’s scientists are less likely to publish truly new ideas, businesses are struggling to break into the market with new ideas, U.S. immigration policy is constricting the arrival of people most likely to found companies that promote new ideas, and we are less likely than previous generations to build institutions that advance new ideas.”
“Turkey’s Economic Turmoil Sends Desperation And Inflation Soaring” (The Atlantic). “The Turkish lira has lost as much as 45% of its value this year, making ordinary Turks poorer. The pandemic-era consumer-price increases that have plagued economies across the world are supersize in Turkey, where inflation stands at more than 21%. People here are rushing to trade their shrinking wages for dollars and gold, are eating out less and are having more trouble finding imported goods, including medicine.”
“Your Future Landlord Just Outbid You For That House” (New York Times). “During the third quarter of 2021, investors bought more than 18 percent of the homes sold in the United States — about 90,000 homes in all, for a total of about $64 billion. That’s the highest share and the largest number in any quarter on record, according to a new report by Redfin.”
