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Prefatory Note

The attached document represents the most complete and accurate version available
based on original files from the FOMC Secretariat at the Board of Governors of the
Federal Reserve System.
Please note that some material may have been redacted from this document if that
material was received on a confidential basis. Redacted material is indicated by
occasional gaps in the text or by gray boxes around non-text content. All redacted
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Content last modified 01/29/2016.

Class III FOMC - Internal (FR)

April 23, 2010

CURRENT ECONOMIC
AND FINANCIAL CONDITIONS
Supplemental Notes

Prepared for the Federal Open Market Committee
by the staff of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System

Contents
The Domestic Nonfinancial Economy ........................................................

1

Sales of New and Existing Homes ................................................... 1
Orders and Shipments of Nondefense Capital Goods...................... 1
Exhibits
Private Housing Activity.................................................................. 2
Indicators of Single-Family Housing ............................................... 3
Orders and Shipments of Nondefense Capital Goods...................... 4
Consumer Price Measures................................................................ 5
Producer Price Measures.................................................................. 5
The Domestic Financial Economy ..............................................................
Exhibits
Selected Financial Market Quotations ............................................. 6
Commercial Bank Credit ................................................................. 7

i

1

Supplemental Notes
The Domestic Nonfinancial Economy
Sales of New and Existing Homes
Home sales strengthened noticeably in March. Sales of new single-family homes jumped
27 percent last month, and the stock of unsold new houses edged down to its lowest level
since 1971. Consequently, the months’ supply of new homes moved sharply lower,
though it remained elevated. Meanwhile, sales of single-family existing homes rose more
than 7 percent in March to an annual rate of 4.7 million units. Both of these sales figures
were likely boosted, at least in part, by the anticipated expiry of the homebuyer tax credit,
which is only available for home-sale agreements signed through April.
Orders and Shipments of Nondefense Capital Goods
Shipments of nondefense capital goods excluding aircraft rose again in March, posting a
2.2 percent increase on the heels of a 1.5 percent gain in February. New orders jumped
4 percent, following February's rise of 2.1 percent. These gains leave the level of new
orders narrowly above that of shipments.
Shipments of high-tech equipment posted particularly robust gains, with shipments of
computers and communications equipment rising at 3.7 and 6.2 percent, respectively.
New orders for computers surged 12.9 percent, although this series has been quite
volatile lately. Outside of the high-tech sector, shipments posted a solid increase of
1.7 percent. New orders rose more rapidly and now stand a little above shipments.
The three-month moving average of the staff’s constructed series on real adjusted durable
goods orders rose 0.7 percent in March. This series—which strips out nondefense
aircraft, defense capital goods, and industries for which reported orders actually equal
shipments—is one of the staff’s indicators of near-term industrial production.

The Domestic Financial Economy
(Exhibits attached)

-1-

-2Private Housing Activity
(Millions of units, seasonally adjusted; annual rate except as noted)
2009
2010
Sector

2009

All units
Starts
Permits
Single-family units
Starts
Permits
Adjusted permits1
New homes
Sales
Months’ supply2
Existing homes
Sales
Months’ supply2
Multifamily units
Starts
Built for rent
Built for sale
Permits
Condos and co-ops
Existing home sales

Q3

Q4

Q1

Jan.

Feb.

Mar.

.55
.57

.59
.57

.56
.60

.62
.65

.61
.62

.62
.64

.63
.69

.45
.44
.44

.50
.46
.48

.48
.47
.49

.53
.52
.53

.51
.50
.52

.54
.51
.52

.53
.54
.56

.38
9.11

.41
7.72

.37
7.65

.36
7.84

.34
8.24

.32
8.63

.41
6.66

4.57
8.34

4.65
8.06

5.23
6.90

4.49
8.27

4.43
8.22

4.36
8.47

4.68
8.11

.11
.09
.02
.14

.09
.08
.01
.11

.08
.06
.02
.12

.09
n.a.
n.a.
.13

.10
n.a.
n.a.
.12

.08
n.a.
n.a.
.12

.10
n.a.
n.a.
.14

.59

.63

.73

.65

.62

.65

.67

1. Adjusted permits equal permit issuance plus total starts outside of permit-issuing areas.
2. At current sales rate; expressed as the ratio of seasonally adjusted inventories to seasonally adjusted
sales. Quarterly and annual figures are averages of monthly figures.
n.a. Not available.
Source: Census Bureau.

Private Housing Starts and Permits
(Seasonally adjusted annual rate)
Millions of units
2.0

2.0

1.8

1.8
Single-family starts

1.6

1.6

1.4

1.4

1.2

1.2
Single-family adjusted permits

1.0

1.0

.8

.8

.6

Mar.

.4

.6
.4

.2

.2

Multifamily starts
Mar.

.0

1999

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

Note: Adjusted permits equal permit issuance plus total starts outside of permit-issuing areas.
Source: Census Bureau.

2008

2009

2010

.0

-3-

Content partially redacted.

Indicators of Single-Family Housing
Inventories of New Homes
and Homeowner Vacancy Rate

New Single-Family Home Sales
Millions of units
_ (annual rate)
16

600
550

1.4

Percent

Thousands of units
Inventories of new homes
(left scale)

2.75
2.50

500

1.2

2.25

450
1.0

2.00

400
0.8
350
0.6

1.75

300

0.4

1.50

250

Source: For total, Census Bureau;

Note: Homeowner vacancy rate is seasonally adjusted
by Board staff.
Source: Census Bureau.

Existing Single-Family Home Sales
Millions of units
_ (annual rate)
70

Index, 2001=100

Mortgage Rates
Percent

140
130

6.5

7.5
7.0

120

6.0

6.5

110
5.5
100
5.0

Existing home sales
(right scale)

Mar.

4.5

6.0

90

5.5

80
Apr. 21

4.0

70

5_
0

3.5 .................................200.....................006.............................................10............. 60
...... 4
2 ......
2008
20 ...
2002
Note: 2-week moving average.
Source: Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation.

Source: National Association of Realtors.

Prices of Existing Homes

House Price Expectations
Index, 2000 = 100

LP price index
Monthly FHFA purchase-only index
20-city S&P/Case-Shiller monthly price index

Diffusion index

240
220

80
60

Apr.(p)
200

40

180
20

..
.·· .·

.. -

160
Apr.(P)
140

-20

120
~2~0.._0.._2...................2~00....................2~00 6...............2~00 8............~20 10............... 100
... 4
......
......
......

Note: LP and S&P/Case-Shiller are seasonally adjusted
by Board staff. FHFA is re-indexed to 2000.
Source: For FHFA, Federal Housing Finance Agency;
for S&P/Case-Shiller, Standard & Poor's; for LP,
LoanPerformance, a division of First American CoreLogic.

0

2007

2008

2009

2010

Note: Diffusion index is constructed by subtracting
expectations of decrease from expectations of increase.
p Preliminary.
Source: Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan Surveys
of Consumers.

-40

-4Orders and Shipments of Nondefense Capital Goods
(Percent change; seasonally adjusted current dollars)
2009
Category

2010

Q4

Q1

Jan.

Annual rate

Feb.

Mar.

Monthly rate

Shipments
Excluding aircraft
Computers and peripherals
Communications equipment
All other categories1

9.0
8.7
22.0
-5.0
8.8

-.7
7.4
18.6
-.5
7.1

-4.4
-1.9
4.0
1.4
-2.8

.8
1.5
-4.6
-1.1
2.4

2.4
2.2
3.7
6.2
1.7

Orders
Excluding aircraft
Computers and peripherals
Communications equipment
All other categories1

1.6
13.5
26.4
-10.4
14.9

25.6
5.1
-5.0
-29.3
10.3

3.9
-4.4
-10.6
-3.9
-3.7

6.1
2.1
4.6
-13.0
3.3

-7.5
4.0
12.9
3.8
3.1

Memo:
Shipments of complete aircraft2

39.8

n.a.

31.7

31.5

n.a.

1. Excludes most terrestrial transportation equipment.
2. From Census Bureau, Current Industrial Reports; billions of dollars, annual rate.
n.a. Not available.
Source: Census Bureau.

Communications Equipment
20
17
14

Non-High-Tech,
Nontransportation Equipment

Billions of chained (2005) dollars, ratio scale
Shipments
Orders

20
17
14

11

11

8

59

Billions of chained (2005) dollars, ratio scale

54

59
54

Orders

8
Mar.

5

48

42

48

42

Shipments

5

Mar.
36

2

2000
2002
2004
2006
2008
2010
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010
Note: Shipments and orders are deflated by a price index
that is derived from the quality-adjusted price indexes of the
Bureau of Economic Analysis and uses the producer price
index for communications equipment for monthly interpolation.
Source: Census Bureau.

2

30

210
190

2000 = 100

2000
2002
2004
2006
2008
2010
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010
Note: Shipments and orders are deflated by the staff
price indexes for the individual equipment types included
in this category. Indexes are derived from the quality-adjusted
price indexes of the Bureau of Economic Analysis.
Source: Census Bureau.

Billions of chained (2005) dollars, ratio scale
24

100

21
19

80

Industrial production
(left scale)

30

Shipments Diffusion Index

Computers and Peripherals
240

36

Mar.

170

17

150

15

130

Diffusion index

100

80

13

110

2000
2002
2004
2006
2008
2010
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010
Note: Shipments are deflated by the staff price index for
computers and peripheral equipment, which is derived from
the quality-adjusted price indexes of the Bureau of Economic
Analysis.
Source: Census Bureau; FRB Industrial Production.

60

60

40

40

9

Real M3
shipments
(right scale)

90

70

Mar.

20

20

7

0

11

2000
2002
2004
2006
2008
2010
Note: 3-month moving average. The diffusion index equals
the percentage of 26 nontransportation equipment categories
that experienced an increase in shipments relative to 3
months prior.
Source: Census Bureau.

0

-5-

Price Measures
(Percent change)
12-month change

Mar.
2009

1-month change

Annual rate
Measures

3-month change

Monthly rate

Mar.
2010

Dec.
2009

Mar.
2010

Feb.
2010

Mar.
2010

CPI
Total
Food
Energy
Ex. food and energy
Core goods
Core services
Shelter
Other services
Memo: Trimmed mean
Chained CPI (n.s.a.) 1
Ex. food and energy 1

-.4
4.4
-23.0
1.8
.4
2.3
1.5
3.5
2.3
-.1
1.7

2.3
.2
18.3
1.1
1.9
.8
-.7
2.8
1.0
2.5
.8

2.5
1.0
15.3
1.3
2.9
.7
-.6
2.6
1.2
...
...

.9
2.3
9.2
-.2
-.1
-.2
-2.3
2.5
.6
...
...

.0
.1
-.5
.1
-.1
.1
.0
.3
.0
...
...

.1
.2
.0
.0
-.1
.1
-.1
.3
.0
...
...

PCE prices 2
Total
Food and bev. at home
Energy
Ex. food and energy
Core goods
Core services
Housing services
Other services
Memo: Trimmed mean
Core market-based
Core non-market-based

.2
4.6
-24.8
1.7
.7
2.0
2.4
1.9
2.3
2.1
-.9

2.0
-.5
18.6
1.3
.3
1.7
.0
2.2
...
1.1
2.5

2.5
1.4
16.1
1.8
-.7
2.6
-.4
3.5
1.4
1.0
6.4

1.1
2.3
9.0
.5
-.9
.9
-.6
1.4
...
.4
.7

.0
.1
-.6
.0
-.1
.1
.0
.1
.0
.1
-.1

.1
.3
.0
.1
.0
.1
-.1
.2
...
.1
.1

PPI
Total finished goods
Food
Energy
Ex. food and energy
Core consumer goods
Capital equipment
Intermediate materials
Ex. food and energy
Crude materials
Ex. food and energy

-3.4
-1.3
-25.0
3.8
4.2
3.4
-8.9
-1.8
-38.9
-32.9

6.0
6.8
22.9
.9
1.4
.2
7.7
4.0
33.4
44.5

9.6
13.7
37.7
.0
.7
-.8
9.8
3.7
59.4
25.2

6.2
13.3
11.9
1.9
2.9
.8
9.8
8.9
42.0
59.1

-.6
.4
-2.9
.1
.2
-.1
.1
.9
-3.5
-.6

.7
2.4
.7
.1
.1
.0
.6
.7
3.2
6.0

1. Higher-frequency figures are not applicable for data that are not seasonally adjusted (n.s.a.).
2. PCE prices in March 2010 are staff estimates.
... Not applicable.
Source: For consumer price index (CPI) and producer price index (PPI), U.S. Dept. of Labor, Bureau of
Labor Statistics; for personal consumption expenditures (PCE), U.S. Dept. of Commerce, Bureau of
Economic Analysis; for trimmed mean CPI, Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland; for trimmed mean PCE,
Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas.

-6Selected Financial Market Quotations
(One-day quotes in percent except as noted)
2008

Change to Apr. 22 from
selected dates (percentage points)

2010

Instrument
Sept. 12

Jan. 26

Mar. 15

Apr. 22

2008
Sept. 12

2010
Jan. 26

2010
Mar. 15

2.00

.13

.13

.13

-1.87

.00

.00

1.46
1.80

.07
.14

.17
.24

.16
.24

-1.30
-1.56

.09
.10

-.01
.00

Commercial paper (A1/P1 rates)2
1-month
3-month

2.39
2.75

.14
.20

.21
.20

.23
.28

-2.16
-2.47

.09
.08

.02
.08

Large negotiable CDs1
3-month
6-month

2.79
3.09

.20
.29

.23
.34

.31
.43

-2.48
-2.66

.11
.14

.08
.09

Eurodollar deposits3
1-month
3-month

2.60
3.00

.28
.40

.28
.40

.30
.40

-2.30
-2.60

.02
.00

.02
.00

Bank prime rate

5.00

3.25

3.25

3.25

-1.75

.00

.00

Intermediate- and long-term
U.S. Treasury4
2-year
5-year
10-year

2.24
2.97
3.93

.85
2.38
3.80

.95
2.42
3.84

1.04
2.57
3.89

-1.20
-.40
-.04

.19
.19
.09

.09
.15
.05

U.S. Treasury indexed notes5
5-year
10-year

1.33
1.77

.38
1.37

.56
1.56

.65
1.51

-.68
-.26

.27
.14

.09
-.05

Municipal general obligations (Bond Buyer)6

4.54

4.30

4.33

4.37

-.17

.07

.04

4.26
4.36
6.62
7.22
10.66

3.72
4.14
5.04
5.74
8.76

3.77
4.18
5.02
5.72
8.64

3.73
4.26
4.90
5.55
8.30

-.53
-.10
-1.72
-1.67
-2.36

.01
.12
-.14
-.19
-.46

-.04
.08
-.12
-.17
-.34

5.78
5.03

4.98
4.29

4.96
4.12

5.07
4.22

-.71
-.81

.09
-.07

.11
.10

Short-term
FOMC intended federal funds rate
Treasury bills1
3-month
6-month

Private instruments
10-year swap
10-year FNMA7
10-year AA8
10-year BBB8
10-year high yield8
Home mortgages (FHLMC survey rate)
30-year fixed
1-year adjustable

Record high

Change to Apr. 22
from selected dates (percent)

2010

Stock exchange index
Level
Dow Jones Industrial
S&P 500 Composite
Nasdaq
Russell 2000
D.J. Total Stock Index

Date

Jan. 26

Mar. 15

Apr. 22

Record
high

2010
Jan. 26

2010
Mar. 15

14,165
1,565
5,049
856
15,807

10-9-07
10-9-07
3-10-00
7-13-07
10-9-07

10,194
1,092
2,204
612
11,282

10,642
1,151
2,362
674
11,980

11,134
1,209
2,519
734
12,649

-21.39
-22.78
-50.10
-14.19
-19.97

9.22
10.67
14.31
19.95
12.12

4.62
5.06
6.64
8.88
5.59

1. Secondary market.
2. Financial commercial paper.
3. Bid rates for Eurodollar deposits collected around 9:30 a.m. eastern time.
4. Derived from a smoothed Treasury yield curve estimated using off-the-run securities.
5. Derived from a smoothed Treasury yield curve estimated using all outstanding securities and adjusted for the carry effect.
6. Most recent Thursday quote.
7. Constant-maturity yields estimated from Fannie Mae domestic noncallable coupon securities.
8. Derived from smoothed corporate yield curves estimated using Merrill Lynch bond data.
_______________________________________________________________________
NOTES:
September 12, 2008, is the last business day before Lehman Brothers Holdings filed for bankruptcy.
January 26, 2010, is the day before the January 2010 FOMC monetary policy announcement.
March 15, 2010, is the day before the most recent FOMC monetary policy announcement.
_______________________________________________________________________

-7Commercial Bank Credit
(Percent change, annual rate, except as noted; seasonally adjusted)
Type of credit
2008

2009

4.2

Total

Q3
2009

Q4
2009

Q1
2010

Level1
Mar. 2010

H1
2009

Mar.
2010

-7.1

-5.5

-8.7

-9.3

-6.8

-5.3

9,308

Loans2
Total
Core
To businesses
Commercial and industrial
Commercial real estate

4.2
4.6

-10.2
-8.3

-7.5
-4.6

-14.4
-12.4

-12.7
-12.5

-10.1
-11.5

-6.3
-9.1

6,983
6,201

14.6
6.4

-18.6
-4.4

-14.7
-1.4

-26.2
-6.1

-23.8
-8.9

-20.6
-9.5

-17.9
-8.0

1,284
1,609

To households
Residential real estate
Revolving home equity
Closed-end mortgages
Consumer
Memo: Originated3
Other

-3.9
12.8
-8.8
7.2
7.1
1.6

-6.2
.5
-8.5
-3.7
-3.9
-23.4

-1.7
6.0
-4.5
-.6
-.9
-28.1

-11.3
-4.9
-13.7
-5.6
-5.7
-30.3

-10.4
-4.8
-12.5
-8.1
-8.1
-14.3

-6.6
-3.3
-7.9
-12.8
-12.5
1.8

-6.1
-2.0
-7.9
-6.1
-6.1
16.6

2,120
605
1,515
1,187
1,212
783

4.1
16.2
-9.5

4.1
9.2
-3.3

1.8
1.9
1.6

10.7
23.9
-8.3

1.9
8.4
-8.1

3.6
8.5
-4.5

-2.4
4.3
-13.6

2,325
1,463
862

Securities
Total
Treasury and agency
Other4

Note: Yearly annual rates are Q4 to Q4; quarterly and monthly annual rates use corresponding average levels. Data have been
adjusted to remove the effects of mark-to-market accounting rules (FAS 115) and the initial consolidation of certain variable
interest entities (FIN 46) and off-balance-sheet vehicles (FAS 166 and 167). Data also account for the effects of nonbank
structure activity of $5 billion or more.
1. Billions of dollars. Pro rata averages of weekly (Wednesday) levels.
2. Excludes interbank loans.
3. Includes an estimate of outstanding loans securitized by commercial banks that retained recourse or servicing rights.
4. Includes private mortgage-backed securities; securities of corporations, state and local governments, and foreign governments;
and any trading account securities that are not Treasury or agency securities.
Source: Federal Reserve Board.

Loans and Leases in Bank Credit

Survey Measures of Standards and Demand for Loans
Billions of dollars

Monthly, SA

Net percent
8200

NBER
peak

Quarterly

Standards
Demand

8000

100

NBER
peak

80
60
40

7800

20
7600

0
Q2

Mar. 31*

-20
7400

-40
-60

7200

-80
7000
2007

2008

2009

2010

*Data for March 31, 2010, reflect banks adoptions of FAS166/167.
Source: Federal Reserve.

-100
1990

1993

1996

1999

2002

2005

2008

Note: The aggregate indexes of changes can be interpreted as the net
percentage of core loans on SLOOS respondents’ balance sheets each
quarter that were in categories for which banks reported a tightening in
standards or strengthening in loan demand.
Source: Senior Loan Officer Opinion Survey.

Note: Shaded bars indicate periods of business recession as defined by the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER).