Insights from Catalyst

With the Federal Reserve signaling to markets that inflation fighting – rather than a focus on full employment – is the imminent mandate, the specter of rising interest rates now looms. High CPI numbers have caused this shift. But is the inflation threat real, given the supply chain effects of the pandemic and long-term rates that remain at levels well below the prior rate cycle?

New Year’s Day will represent more than the flip of the calendar this year. After six years of discussion and deliberation, the NCUA’s final subordinated debt rule will take effect January 1, 2022. What do credit unions need to know about this upcoming rule change?

The most recent U.S. inflation figure reported for the last 12 months was 5.3 percent, the highest level in 13 years. Surprisingly, inflation has not been more than three percent since 2011. But, these numbers are coming off a low base from the pandemic slowdown. We should expect outliers in the data from the upside to the downside.

As you may know, the London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) is being phased out in the U.S. and replaced with a new benchmark rate, effective June 2023. As LIBOR’s replacement – the Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR) – becomes more visible, here’s what you need to know.

The first three terms above are probably familiar, but stagflation may be new to some. The word, which merges stagnation and inflation, originated in the hyper-inflationary days of the 1970s. However, this term has been popping up more frequently in recent news. What does it mean and how should we prepare for the possibility of its arrival?