Archives for December 2013

More Positive Outlook for Contract Negotiations as Economy Appears to Gather Some Momentum Going into 2014

By Jim Cline

Most of our recent blogs on economic developments have emphasized the modest nature of recent economic improvement, but a series of reports over the past few weeks have signaled that the economy may, at last, be gathering a bit of momentum as it heads into 2014. While the government shutdown and debt ceiling debate seemed to place a chill on the economy this fall, these new economic releases have often exceeded economists’ expectations and point to a possible improved economy in the year ahead. [Read more…]

Why Does the Fed Keep Missing Its 2% Inflation Target?

By Jim Cline

Last week, we reported the sudden drop in the National and Seattle CPI numbers and also discussed the potential impact on 2014 and 2015 negotiations.  In October, we had also written about the 2% inflation target established by the Federal Reserve Bank as they use monetary policy to attempt to control inflation.  We explained how the Fed seems to be falling short on those 2% goals:

[Read more…]

How Will the Lower Inflation Rate Affect Negotiations?

By Jim Cline, Kate Kremer and Chris Casillas

In our last blog, we reported the significant drop in inflation reported in the October CPI report. With current CPI standing at 0.8% and 0.6% for the “All-Cities” and Seattle index, respectively, how might this sudden drop affect bargaining?

[Read more…]