Economic Overview - The overall US economy remains solid, but certain sectors, particularly housing, may already be in recession due to high interest rates [1][3] - Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent highlighted that low-end consumers are the hardest hit by the housing recession, as they typically have debts rather than assets [3] Housing Market - Pending home sales in the US were flat in September, indicating stagnation in the real estate market [3][7] - High mortgage rates continue to hinder the real estate market, contributing to the recession in housing [1] Federal Reserve Policy - Bessent called for the Federal Reserve to accelerate rate cuts, suggesting that current policies have caused distributional problems [1] - Fed Chair Jerome Powell indicated that the central bank may not cut rates further at its December meeting, which has drawn criticism from Bessent and other officials [4] - Fed Governor Stephen Miran warned that maintaining tight monetary policy for an extended period could induce a recession [5][8] Inflation and Government Spending - Bessent noted that cuts in government spending have reduced the deficit-to-GDP ratio from 6.4% to 5.9%, which should help lower inflation [8] - There is a belief that if spending contracts, inflation should decrease, which would warrant further rate cuts by the Fed [9]
High interest rates may have caused housing recession, Bessent says
New York Postยท2025-11-02 21:20