Inflation Monitor – March 2015
Inflation Deflation Composite Ranking
* The Inflation Equilibrium is a quick summary for the whole data series of the inflation monitor. If you don’t like statistics, this is the chart for you.
Inflation Monitor – March 2015 – Introduction
It is March and as of today spring is finally here. It doesn’t feel like spring. I only hope that the weather warms up so I don;t have to wear a winter parka in April.
Boston finally broke the record for snowfall this year with 108.6 Inches. The prior record was 107.9 inches in 1872. This broken record was no reason to celebrate since the Governor had to call in the National Guard to help with the snow. Having experienced prior large snow storms in the City of Boston, I can tell you that the situation this year was mismanaged. There was no reason to call in the national guard.
Boston’s lack of preparedness is much like the financial markets with deflation. Deflation has caught a lot of people off guard. A number of European countries currently have negative interest rates, Germany and Switzerland rates are negative out to 6 and 10 years. What the future holds with negative interest rates is anyone’s guess, but the idea of negative interest rates is a dangerous one if the trend continues lower.
Is the US stock market safe from global deflation?
The S&P 500 and US Treasuries are an anomaly in the global equity and bond markets. The US Treasury has the highest interest rate compared to any other developed country. The S&P 500 continues to rise despite the global deflation effecting countries and equity prices around the world.