David Wessel
@davidmwessel.bsky.social
Director, Hutchins Center on Fiscal & Monetary Policy, Brookings Institution
https://www.brookings.edu/people/david-wessel/
https://www.brookings.edu/people/david-wessel/
Two @wsj.com pieces about NYC skyscrapers worth reading.
The new (JPMorganChase): www.wsj.com/style/design...
The old (American Radiator)
www.wsj.com/real-estate/...
The new (JPMorganChase): www.wsj.com/style/design...
The old (American Radiator)
www.wsj.com/real-estate/...
November 10, 2025 at 11:29 AM
Two @wsj.com pieces about NYC skyscrapers worth reading.
The new (JPMorganChase): www.wsj.com/style/design...
The old (American Radiator)
www.wsj.com/real-estate/...
The new (JPMorganChase): www.wsj.com/style/design...
The old (American Radiator)
www.wsj.com/real-estate/...
And what risks the Fed itself sees:
- Asset prices "elevated"
- Household & business debt low and stable
- Hedge fund, life insurer leverage high
- Asset prices "elevated"
- Household & business debt low and stable
- Hedge fund, life insurer leverage high
November 8, 2025 at 2:09 PM
And what risks the Fed itself sees:
- Asset prices "elevated"
- Household & business debt low and stable
- Hedge fund, life insurer leverage high
- Asset prices "elevated"
- Household & business debt low and stable
- Hedge fund, life insurer leverage high
What is Wall Street most worried about these days? From a NYFed survey summarized in Fed's new Financial Stability Report www.federalreserve.gov/publications...
November 8, 2025 at 2:04 PM
What is Wall Street most worried about these days? From a NYFed survey summarized in Fed's new Financial Stability Report www.federalreserve.gov/publications...
As you round the corner on Shanghai’s Shimen Second Road, a giant ship, "The Louis," appears like an apparition. Suspended from its hull, the anchor is in the shape of two six-foot-tall letters: LV. The ship-shaped exhibition space and store, is the brainchild of Louis Vuitton. on.ft.com/3JPvdWE
November 8, 2025 at 12:48 PM
As you round the corner on Shanghai’s Shimen Second Road, a giant ship, "The Louis," appears like an apparition. Suspended from its hull, the anchor is in the shape of two six-foot-tall letters: LV. The ship-shaped exhibition space and store, is the brainchild of Louis Vuitton. on.ft.com/3JPvdWE
Will bond markets force fiscal repair? A @financialtimes.com podcast I did yesterday with Carmen Reinhart, Ugo Montrucchio, and Andrew Hill. (Free registration required to watch)
event-registration.ft.com/register/8a3...
event-registration.ft.com/register/8a3...
November 7, 2025 at 12:41 PM
Will bond markets force fiscal repair? A @financialtimes.com podcast I did yesterday with Carmen Reinhart, Ugo Montrucchio, and Andrew Hill. (Free registration required to watch)
event-registration.ft.com/register/8a3...
event-registration.ft.com/register/8a3...
What happens to TIPs if CPI is delayed? "If the CPI for a particular month is not reported by the last day of the following
month, we will announce an index number based on the last available 12-month change in the CPI." www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/...
month, we will announce an index number based on the last available 12-month change in the CPI." www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/...
November 7, 2025 at 12:34 PM
What happens to TIPs if CPI is delayed? "If the CPI for a particular month is not reported by the last day of the following
month, we will announce an index number based on the last available 12-month change in the CPI." www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/...
month, we will announce an index number based on the last available 12-month change in the CPI." www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/...
I asked Fed Gov. Lisa Cook after all she's been through -- confirmation, Trump trying to fire her -- what she'd tell young people about the pros and cons of a career in public service. Her answer:
November 4, 2025 at 3:30 PM
I asked Fed Gov. Lisa Cook after all she's been through -- confirmation, Trump trying to fire her -- what she'd tell young people about the pros and cons of a career in public service. Her answer:
Remember the PIGS (Portugal, Italy, Greece, Spain)? www.wsj.com/economy/euro...
November 3, 2025 at 11:21 AM
Remember the PIGS (Portugal, Italy, Greece, Spain)? www.wsj.com/economy/euro...
Big tech is planning to pour $400 billion into artificial intelligence efforts this year. They all say it’s nowhere near enough. Investment boom, yes. Bubble? www.wsj.com/tech/ai/big-...
October 31, 2025 at 10:33 AM
Big tech is planning to pour $400 billion into artificial intelligence efforts this year. They all say it’s nowhere near enough. Investment boom, yes. Bubble? www.wsj.com/tech/ai/big-...
Addressing threats to the SNAP program
Thursday, Oct 30, 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM EDT Hamilton Project @brookings.edu (Online only)
Thursday, Oct 30, 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM EDT Hamilton Project @brookings.edu (Online only)
October 29, 2025 at 4:13 PM
Addressing threats to the SNAP program
Thursday, Oct 30, 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM EDT Hamilton Project @brookings.edu (Online only)
Thursday, Oct 30, 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM EDT Hamilton Project @brookings.edu (Online only)
Bipartisan group of big-name economists (including Bernanke, Yellen, Nobel laureates Acemoglu & Johnson, etc) in amicus brief urge SCOTUS to throw out Trump's reciprocal tariffs.
www.supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/24...
www.supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/24...
October 25, 2025 at 3:23 PM
Bipartisan group of big-name economists (including Bernanke, Yellen, Nobel laureates Acemoglu & Johnson, etc) in amicus brief urge SCOTUS to throw out Trump's reciprocal tariffs.
www.supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/24...
www.supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/24...
Opportunity Zone funds tracked by Novogradac reported raising $437 mm of equity in Q3 2025, a substantial drop from the previous quarter and likely a portent of the anticipated “dead period” for opportunity zones investment ahead of the Jan. 1, 2027, launch of OZ 2.0. www.novoco.com/notes-from-n...
October 24, 2025 at 5:14 PM
Opportunity Zone funds tracked by Novogradac reported raising $437 mm of equity in Q3 2025, a substantial drop from the previous quarter and likely a portent of the anticipated “dead period” for opportunity zones investment ahead of the Jan. 1, 2027, launch of OZ 2.0. www.novoco.com/notes-from-n...
And the US GDP track record for same period via FRED
October 21, 2025 at 11:40 AM
And the US GDP track record for same period via FRED
Chart o the morning: German GDP growth has stalled.
on.ft.com/48Hm3FS
on.ft.com/48Hm3FS
October 21, 2025 at 11:37 AM
Chart o the morning: German GDP growth has stalled.
on.ft.com/48Hm3FS
on.ft.com/48Hm3FS
Good chart on #stablecoins holdings of US Treasuries from ECB's Isabel Vansteenkiste.
www.brookings.edu/wp-content/u...
www.brookings.edu/wp-content/u...
October 20, 2025 at 9:13 PM
Good chart on #stablecoins holdings of US Treasuries from ECB's Isabel Vansteenkiste.
www.brookings.edu/wp-content/u...
www.brookings.edu/wp-content/u...
See “Exclusions for Sale? Tariff Exemptions in the US-China Tariff War” Davin Chor, Matthew Grant & Bingjing Li. Was presented at 2025 ASSA meetings.
October 18, 2025 at 12:17 PM
See “Exclusions for Sale? Tariff Exemptions in the US-China Tariff War” Davin Chor, Matthew Grant & Bingjing Li. Was presented at 2025 ASSA meetings.
Fed: Cayman Island hedge funds are, increasingly, marginal foreign buyers of US Treasury notes and bonds. In 2022-2024, they purchased $1.2 trillion in Treasuries - 37% of net issuance of notes and bonds, nearly as much as all other foreign investors combined. www.federalreserve.gov/econres/note...
October 16, 2025 at 2:13 AM
Fed: Cayman Island hedge funds are, increasingly, marginal foreign buyers of US Treasury notes and bonds. In 2022-2024, they purchased $1.2 trillion in Treasuries - 37% of net issuance of notes and bonds, nearly as much as all other foreign investors combined. www.federalreserve.gov/econres/note...
What I did today with IMF's Kristalina Georgieva, Saudi Finance Minister Mohammed Al-Jadaan, Nigerian philanthropist Tony Elumelu, MIT's Simon Johnson, Alphabet's Ruth Porat: 'Boosting Productivity Growth in the Digital Age."
meetings.imf.org/en/2025/Annu...
meetings.imf.org/en/2025/Annu...
October 15, 2025 at 9:59 PM
What I did today with IMF's Kristalina Georgieva, Saudi Finance Minister Mohammed Al-Jadaan, Nigerian philanthropist Tony Elumelu, MIT's Simon Johnson, Alphabet's Ruth Porat: 'Boosting Productivity Growth in the Digital Age."
meetings.imf.org/en/2025/Annu...
meetings.imf.org/en/2025/Annu...
Are geopolitics leading to fragmentation of the international financial system? Launching this year's Geneva Report @brookings.edu Hutchins Center. In-person (registration required) & livestreamed. Oct 20 10 AM EDT www.brookings.edu/events/are-g...
October 10, 2025 at 11:19 AM
Are geopolitics leading to fragmentation of the international financial system? Launching this year's Geneva Report @brookings.edu Hutchins Center. In-person (registration required) & livestreamed. Oct 20 10 AM EDT www.brookings.edu/events/are-g...
Apparently (according to Brad Setser) US Treasury is issuing Special Drawing Rights Certificates to the Fed in return for dollars which will go into the Exchange Stabilization Fund and the Treasury will then lend (swap) dollars to Argentina.
October 10, 2025 at 1:10 AM
Apparently (according to Brad Setser) US Treasury is issuing Special Drawing Rights Certificates to the Fed in return for dollars which will go into the Exchange Stabilization Fund and the Treasury will then lend (swap) dollars to Argentina.