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Economic Newsletter

Economic Newsletter – February 2025

In the closing months of 2024, monetary policy took center stage as little was done on the fiscal front during the waning days of the Biden administration. The Fed cut rates three times, totaling a full percentage point, between September and December while congressional efforts were focused on campaigning leading up to national elections.

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Economic Newsletter – January 2025

The Federal Reserve cut interest rates for the third time in its three-month-old easing cycle that started with a robust half- point reduction in September. The latest quarter-point cut won’t be the last according to predictions made at the December-17-18 policy meeting. The question is, are we closer to the beginning or the end of the rate-cutting cycle.

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Economic Newsletter – December 2024

Reflections on the U.S. elections are ongoing and will likely dominate the media for some time to come. That said, the polls are closed, and all eyes are focused on what the ramifications of the incoming Trump administration will be for the U.S. economy.

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Economic Newsletter – November 2024

In the waning days of the summer, things looked dire indeed. The job market was sputtering, consumers were pulling back, and public anxiety was ratcheting up, stoked by mounting geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and the onset of a highly divisive and bitter election campaign.

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Economic Newsletter – September 2024

For the first week of the month, it looked like the we were entering the time-honored “dog days of August”, that foreboding mindset people get when they feel stuck in the mud and sense that things just weren’t going right.

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Economic Newsletter – August 2024

In the spring of 2022, the Federal Reserve embarked on a mission to wrestle inflation under control without cratering the economy. At the time, the Fed’s preferred inflation measure, the core Personal Consumption Deflator, was increasing at a 5.5 percent rate and the unemployment rate stood at 3.6 percent.

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Economic Newsletter – July 2024

It’s a long way to Christmas, but with a nod to that beloved holiday ballad, it’s beginning to look a lot like a soft landing. Bing Crosby is no longer with us, but Federal Reserve Chair, Jerome Powell, may soon be singing the praises for the way the economy is performing.

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Economic Newsletter – June 2024

For economists and policy makers, waiting for inflation to subside is like waiting for Godot. But that time may finally have arrived, as the consumer price index rose less than expected in April.

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Economic Newsletter – April 2024

With a presidential election looming, geopolitical tensions escalating and a central bank considering a major shift in its policy stance, 2024 looks to be an eventful year with a wide range of possible outcomes.

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Economic Newsletter – March 2024

January tends to be an ornery month for economists, and the calendar did not disappoint this year. In the closing months of 2023, it appeared that a Goldilocks economy was unfolding, one that featured a cooling, but still solid, pace of economic activity amid a steady decline in inflation.

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BankRI offices will be closed on Monday, February 17th, in observance of Presidents' Day.

We’re excited to share that Brookline Bancorp, Inc. and Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. have announced definitive plans to merge to create a powerful regional banking franchise serving the Northeast. Learn More Here.