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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
passages are exempt from disclosure under applicable provisions of the Freedom of
Information Act.

Content last modified 04/01/2015.

Class II FOMC - Restricted (FR)

Part 1

March 12, 2009

CURRENT ECONOMIC
AND FINANCIAL CONDITIONS
Summary and Outlook

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

Class II FOMC - Restricted (FR)

March 12, 2009

Summary and Outlook

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

Class II FOMC—Restricted (FR)

Domestic Developments
The information we have received since the time of the January Greenbook indicates that
the contraction in economic activity, both here and abroad, has been much more severe
than we had previously projected. We now estimate that real GDP declined at an annual
rate of about 6¾ percent last quarter, a downward revision of about 1¾ percentage points
from our January forecast. 1 In the current quarter, employment and industrial production
have been contracting sharply, motor vehicle sales have plunged again, and sales and
starts of new homes have continued to drop precipitously. In addition, business fixed
investment is falling sharply this quarter, with widespread weakness in spending for both
equipment and structures. In all, we now project that real GDP will fall at an annual rate
of 6½ percent this quarter, about a percentage point below our January projection. We
expect a further decline in real GDP of 2 percent at an annual rate next quarter. Adding
to the bleaker picture for near-term real activity, the unemployment rate is anticipated to
average 8¾ percent in the second quarter, ½ percentage point above our projection in the
January Greenbook.
In addition to the significant markdowns to our estimates of spending and production in
the near term, many of the key factors affecting our medium-term projection have
deteriorated substantially. Most notably, equity prices have tumbled in recent weeks, and
we expect the portfolio losses to weigh heavily on economic activity over the projection
period. In addition, activity abroad is contracting much more sharply than we had
previously anticipated, and the exchange value of the dollar has moved up since the
January Greenbook, so that exports are weaker than in our previous projection. Finally,
although the overall size of the fiscal stimulus bill passed by the Congress was similar to
what we had assumed in the January Greenbook, the composition of the final package
implies a slightly smaller boost to aggregate demand.
Given these unfavorable developments, we are now projecting a deeper and more
prolonged recession this year and a weaker recovery in 2010. Nevertheless, we still
expect activity to stabilize by the end of this year and begin to recover next year as the
stresses in financial markets ease (aided by the various initiatives undertaken by the
Federal Reserve and other federal entities), as the fiscal stimulus shows through to
spending, and as the intensity of the inventory adjustment in housing and other product
markets lessens. All told, we now project that real GDP will decrease 2¼ percent this
year and rise 1½ percent in 2010. These figures are down 1½ percentage points and
1

A list of abbreviations is available at the end of part 1.

I-1

I-2

Class II FOMC—Restricted (FR)

Part 1: Summary and Outlook, March 12, 2009

about 1 percentage point, respectively, from our projection in the January Greenbook.
The weaker projected trajectory of real output results in the unemployment rate rising
more steeply into next year, reaching a peak of 9½ percent in the second quarter of 2010
and remaining at that level through the end of the year. The projected unemployment rate
at the end of next year is about 1½ percentage points higher than in our January forecast.
With the substantially greater degree of slack in this projection, we have marked down
our forecast for inflation in the second half of this year and next year. We continue to
think that inflation will be damped by low rates of resource utilization, falling import
prices, and easing cost pressures from the sharp declines in oil and other raw materials
prices since last summer. In addition, we anticipate that the very low rates of headline
inflation will result in a modest downward adjustment of inflation expectations over the
next two years. All told, we look for core PCE prices to rise 1 percent this year and then
edge up only ½ percent in 2010. Relative to the January Greenbook, the forecast is
roughly the same in 2009 as a whole and 0.3 percentage point lower in 2010.
Key Background Factors
As in the January Greenbook, we assume that the FOMC will hold the target federal
funds rate in the current range of 0 to ¼ percent through the end of 2010. We have not
assumed any nontraditional policy actions other than those that have already been
implemented or announced. In contrast to the staff’s assumed path for the federal funds
rate, the path implied by futures quotes continues to slope upward beginning late this
year. Market participants appear to anticipate an earlier shift to policy tightening than we
have incorporated into our baseline projection, although the expected amount of
tightening is difficult to gauge due to heightened uncertainty about term premiums. (For
further discussion of monetary policy, see the box “Implications of the Zero Bound for
Monetary Policy in the Projection.”)
The 10-year Treasury rate has risen about 40 basis points, on net, since we closed the
January Greenbook. This rise reflects, at least in part, greater anticipated supply of
Treasury securities resulting from federal budget deficits. As in January, we assume that
the 10-year Treasury rate will drift up from its starting level as the recovery in economic
activity eases demand for safe assets and as the 10-year window for the Treasury rate
moves through the period of very low short-term rates that are anticipated for the next
few years. In addition, market participants still see significant odds that the Federal
Reserve will expand its program to purchase long-term assets beyond the already
announced $600 billion in agency debt and mortgage-backed securities (MBS).

Domestic Developments

Class II FOMC—Restricted (FR) I-3

Implications of the Zero Bound for Monetary Policy in the Projection
In this projection, we assume that the
nominal federal funds rate will remain
close to zero through 2013, as shown
by the black line in the figure below to
the left. However, if not for the zero
lower bound, an even lower federal
funds rate would be indicated. As
shown by the dashed red line, an
estimate of the “optimal” path for the
federal funds rate shows a decline to
negative 6½ percent by next year, with

rates remaining below zero through
2013.* As shown in the figure below to
the right, such additional monetary
stimulus would lead to a lower peak
level of unemployment and a noticeably
faster return to full employment. Thus,
the outlook implies a significant
monetary policy “shortfall” that would
require additional fiscal or
unconventional monetary policy actions
to fill.

Federal Funds Rate

Unemployment Rate

4

4

-6

-8
2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

7

7

6

6

5

-8

-4

8

-4

Monetary
Policy
"Shortfall"

8

-6

-2

9

-2

0

9

0

2

10

2

Unconstrained monetary policy
Constrained monetary policy

10

4

5

Unconstrained monetary policy
Constrained monetary policy

4
2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

_______________
*The unconstrained “optimal” policy path minimizes a loss function, conditional on the staff outlook
and the dynamics of the FRB/US model. This function aims at keeping core PCE inflation near 2 percent,
keeping the unemployment rate near the NAIRU, and avoiding changes in the federal funds rate. This
unconstrained path is the same as that reported in the Bluebook.

I-4
Class II FOMC - Restricted (FR)

Key Background Factors Underlying the Baseline Staff Projection
Federal Funds Rate

Long-Term Interest Rates
Percent

Percent
8

Quarterly average

10

Quarterly average
7

Current Greenbook
January Greenbook
Market forecast

9
Baa corporate rate

6

8

5

7

4

6

Conforming mortgage rate

3

5
10-year
Treasury rate

2

4

1
2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

0

Equity Prices

3
2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2

House Prices
2005:Q1 = 100, ratio scale

2005:Q1 = 100, ratio scale
150
140
130
120

Quarter-end

Wilshire 5000

110

120

Quarterly
110
LoanPerformance
index

100

100

90

90
80

80

70
70
60

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

50

Crude Oil Prices

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

60

Broad Real Dollar
Dollars per barrel

2005:Q1 = 100
130

Quarterly average

110

Quarterly average
110

90

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

95

50

2005

100

70

West Texas
intermediate

105

90

30

2005

2006

2007

2008

Note: In each panel, shading represents the projection period, which begins in 2009:Q1.
In the upper-left panel that reports the federal funds rate, the dashed line is not apparent because
the paths of the federal funds rate in the January and current Greenbooks are the same.

2009

2010

85

Domestic Developments

Class II FOMC—Restricted (FR) I-5

Long-term rates likely will rise when such an expansion, which is not incorporated in our
baseline projection, fails to materialize. These factors more than offset the downward
pressure on long-term rates as market participants gradually learn that the federal funds
rate will be kept at the effective zero bound for longer than they currently foresee.
Yields on investment-grade corporate bonds have risen a bit less, on net, than longer-term
Treasury yields since the time of the January Greenbook. The associated modest
narrowing of the spread on Baa-rated corporate bonds is about in line with what we had
anticipated in the last Greenbook. Although we still expect corporate bond yields (and
spreads) to decline over the remainder of this year and next year, we have tempered the
decline somewhat given the weaker economy. All told, our projected path for the
Baa-rated corporate bond yield has been revised up about ½ percentage point for the rest
of 2009 and nearly ¾ percentage point in 2010 relative to the January Greenbook.
In household credit markets, the conforming fixed mortgage rate has remained a little
above 5 percent since the January Greenbook, but the spread of the 30-year fixed
mortgage rate over the 10-year Treasury rate has narrowed about 40 basis points, on net.
The narrowing is likely due, in part, to the support from the government’s ongoing
purchases of agency debt and MBS. We expect the mortgage spread to drift down further
over the next two years as economic conditions begin to improve. However, with
Treasury yields anticipated to rise, the mortgage rate remains slightly above its current
level through 2010 despite the narrowing spread; this path for the mortgage rate averages
roughly ¼ percentage point above that in the January Greenbook.
Equity prices have declined nearly 15 percent since the January Greenbook amid further
sharp markdowns of expected corporate earnings. We have lowered our projected path
for stock prices by a similar amount throughout the forecast period. We still expect the
equity risk premium to moderate gradually, which in turn implies that stock prices will
rise at an annual rate of about 15 percent over the remainder of the projection period.
The projected decline in house prices in this Greenbook is similar to that in January, with
some key influences having moved in offsetting directions. On the positive side, we
expect the foreclosure mitigation policy announced by the Administration to be more

I-6

Class II FOMC—Restricted (FR)

Part 1: Summary and Outlook, March 12, 2009

effective than the program we had assumed in the last Greenbook. 2 However, the effect
of this policy change was offset by the effects on house prices of the more negative
outlook for the economy. On balance, we assume that the LoanPerformance house price
index will decrease 12 percent this year and 3 percent in 2010.
As noted earlier, our forecast incorporates the effects of the recently passed $787 billion
fiscal stimulus package. We estimate that the bill will add 1.1 percentage points to the
change in real GDP in 2009 and 0.8 percentage point in 2010, slightly less than our
assumptions in the January Greenbook. (For further detail, see the box “Fiscal Stimulus
Package.”)
We continue to project large deficits in the federal unified budget over the next two years,
reflecting the effects of the fiscal stimulus package, the costs of financial stabilization
programs, and the weak economic outlook. In particular, we expect the federal deficit to
be $1.9 trillion (13½ percent of GDP) in fiscal 2009 and $1.2 trillion (8½ percent of
GDP) in fiscal 2010.
The incoming data on foreign economies have been extremely weak and point to a broadbased contraction in economic activity in most of the advanced and emerging foreign
economies. Although we continue to expect that a modest recovery abroad will begin
towards the end of this year, we have written down a much deeper contraction in activity
in the first half of the year and slower growth over the remainder of the forecast period.
In particular, we now expect foreign real GDP to decline 2¼ percent over 2009 as a
whole and then to increase about the same amount in 2010. The foreign exchange value
of the dollar has moved about 3 percent above the level we had previously anticipated,
and as a result, the path for the dollar going forward is a good bit higher than our January
Greenbook assumption. We assume that the broad real dollar will gradually decline over
this year and next year, falling about 3¼ percent by the end of 2010.
The spot price of West Texas intermediate (WTI) crude oil currently stands at $42 per
barrel, little changed, on net, from the January Greenbook. Consistent with futures
2

In this projection, we have incorporated the Administration’s proposal to use $75 billion of the funds
available to the Treasury through the Troubled Asset Relief Program, or TARP, to help reduce preventable
home foreclosures. We assume that the funds for the Administration’s foreclosure mitigation program will
result in about 2½ million mortgage modifications, of which more than half will avoid default in the
medium term. Based on these assumptions, we estimate that the program will raise the level of home
prices about 6½ percent by the end of 2010, all else equal. The assumed boost to house prices from the
program is about 3 percentage points larger than our assumption in the January Greenbook.

Domestic Developments

Class II FOMC—Restricted (FR) I-7

prices, we expect crude oil prices to move up slowly as global economic activity
recovers, with the price of WTI reaching $49 per barrel by the end of this year and
$55 per barrel—$4 lower than in the January Greenbook—by the end of next year.
Recent Developments and the Near-Term Outlook
In the fourth quarter, we estimate that real GDP fell at an annual rate of about 6¾ percent,
a decline 1¾ percentage points larger than we had projected in January. Furthermore, the
composition of output last quarter was less favorable than we had anticipated—final
demand fell much more steeply than we had projected, while the pace of inventory
liquidation was slower than expected. We now project that real GDP will drop at about a
4¼ percent rate over the first half of this year, as final demand weakens further and firms
intensify their efforts to reduce inventories.
Indeed, the incoming data on industrial production (IP) indicate that firms are slashing
output dramatically in response to the falloff in demand and the buildup of some
inventory overhangs. Motor vehicle producers, in particular, have cut their assemblies
sharply this quarter, and their production schedules suggest that output will remain
extremely low over the next several months. More broadly, manufacturing IP appears on
track to decline at an annual rate of about 20 percent in the first quarter, and the factory
operating rate has dropped to its lowest level in postwar history. With the purchasing
managers indexes, orders for new durable goods, and other forward-looking indicators
Summary of the Near-Term Outlook
(Percent change at annual rate except as noted)
2009:Q1
Measure

Real GDP
Private domestic final purchases
Personal consumption expenditures
Residential investment
Business fixed investment
Government outlays for consumption
and investment

2009:Q2

January
March
January
March
Greenbook Greenbook Greenbook Greenbook
-5.6
-5.9
-1.7
-40.7
-19.8

-6.5
-5.3
.4
-41.2
-27.3

-1.3
-2.8
.6
-21.0
-19.3

-2.0
-4.3
.0
-34.3
-23.4

.4

-.2

2.8

5.5

Contribution to growth
(percentage points)
Inventory investment
Net exports

-2.0
1.2

-2.2
.1

.6
-.1

.5
.0

I-8

Part 1: Summary and Outlook, March 12, 2009

Class II FOMC—Restricted (FR)

Fiscal Stimulus Package
The overall size of the American Recovery
and Reinvestment Act of 2009 is similar to
the $800 billion package that was assumed in
our forecast in the January Greenbook.
However, one important difference is that the
stimulus bill includes $70 billion for
providing relief to most households from the
alternative minimum tax in 2009, which we
had already incorporated as part of our
baseline fiscal policy assumptions in January.
Thus, the effective size of the package is
smaller than what we had assumed
previously.

•

A reduction in personal taxes for most
individuals, primarily through a $400
tax credit which is anticipated to show
up in lower tax withholding beginning
in the second quarter.

•

Business tax cuts that in large part
reflect the extension through 2009 of
the 50 percent bonus depreciation
provision for equipment spending that
was in place last year.

•

Federal grants to state governments to
help shore up states’ operating
budgets—delivered in large part
through higher Medicaid
reimbursement rates—and to help

The other key components of the stimulus
package, summarized in the table below, are:

Federal Cost of the 2009 Fiscal Stimulus Package
(Billions of dollars)
March
Greenbook
787

January
Greenbook
800

Taxes
Personal tax cuts
Business tax cuts

283
232
51

300
180
120

Spending programs
Grants for state and local operating budgets
Grants for state and local infrastructure
Transfer payments
Federal purchases
Subsidies for long-term programs

504
176
100
116
69
45

500
200
200
90
10
0

Component
Total cost

Domestic Developments

Class II FOMC—Restricted (FR) I-9

maintain or increase their infrastructure
spending.
•

•

•

Increases in transfer payments including a
boost to unemployment insurance
benefits and food stamps, a one-time
$250 payment to retirees and veterans,
and a new program to subsidize health
insurance premiums for many individuals
that have become unemployed.
Additional budget authority for federal
spending, which most notably includes
funding for infrastructure and research
programs.
Subsidies for long-term projects to
improve health information, energy, and
broadband technology. These subsidies
are likely to occur mostly in years beyond
our forecast period.

Our estimates of the effects of the package on
economic activity are based on a number of
assumptions about the direct spend-out of the
stimulus funds:
•

The additional transfer payments are
spent by the recipients soon after they are
received, while the increase in disposable
income resulting from the reduction in
income taxes is spent by households in
the same way, in terms of magnitude and
timing, as an increase in ordinary income.

•

Business spending for equipment and
software will get only a small lift from

the business tax cuts, consistent with
our judgment about the 2001-2004
experience with a temporary bonus
depreciation allowance.
•

About 65 percent of the federal
grants to shore-up state operating
budgets and 35 percent of the federal
aid to state governments for funding
infrastructure projects will be spent
by the end of next year, reflecting
the typical spend-out rates for such
projects.

•

About half of the additional budget
authority for federal spending
programs is assumed to show up as
outlays by the end of 2010,
consistent with the usual spend-out
lags for these types of programs.

Given these assumptions and
incorporating associated indirect
multiplier effects, we estimate that the
fiscal stimulus package will add
1.1 percentage points to the change in
real GDP in 2009 and 0.8 percentage
point in 2010, 0.1 percentage point lower
in each year than in our previous
forecast. Our estimates of the effects of
the stimulus package on economic
activity are slightly smaller than assumed
in the January Greenbook, reflecting
both the smaller effective size and the
different composition of the final
package.

I-10

Class II FOMC—Restricted (FR)

Part 1: Summary and Outlook, March 12, 2009

pointing to further broad-based declines in factory output over the next few months, we
now project manufacturing IP to decline at a 10 percent rate in the second quarter, a
much sharper decline than in the January Greenbook.
The deterioration in labor market conditions has accelerated in recent months, with steep
job losses across nearly all sectors. Over the first two months of the year, private payroll
employment fell by an average of 670,000 per month, and the unemployment rate jumped
to 8.1 percent, its highest level since 1983. Given the elevated level of unemployment
insurance claims since the February survey week and poor readings from various hiring
surveys, we have marked down our employment forecast in coming months. In
particular, we are now looking for private payrolls to drop by 675,000 in March and to
decline about 370,000 per month, on average, in the second quarter. We expect these job
losses to push the unemployment rate up to 8.8 percent by the end of the second quarter.
Consumer outlays appear to have stabilized at a very low level this quarter. Real outlays
for goods outside of motor vehicles recorded sizable gains in January and February, up
from the average monthly declines of nearly 1 percent recorded over the previous six
months. Retail sales of motor vehicles moved down further, on average, in the first two
months of the year after plummeting in the second half of last year. In January, spending
on services recorded a modest gain. Looking ahead, we expect that spending will be
about flat in the coming months, as the boost to real incomes from the fiscal stimulus
package counterbalances the drag from the otherwise bleak demand fundamentals. In all,
we project that real PCE will tick up at less than a ¼ percent rate in the first half of the
year, up from the small decline we had projected in January.
The incoming data on housing activity again have been weaker than we were
anticipating. Single-family starts fell to a postwar low of 347,000 units at an annual rate
in January, well below our expectations, and multifamily starts also sank precipitously.
Similarly, new home sales fell by more in January than we were expecting. In view of
the downside surprises in demand and construction, and with the outlook for employment
and income having worsened as well, we have marked down our forecasts for new home
sales and starts in coming months. All told, we now project single-family starts to
average about 320,000 units in the current quarter and to fall to a 280,000 unit pace in the
second quarter; these figures are about 75,000 units, on average, below our projection in
the January Greenbook. Consistent with this trajectory for starts, we expect residential
investment to decline at an annual rate of 38 percent over the first half of this year.

Domestic Developments

Class II FOMC—Restricted (FR) I-11

Real investment in equipment and software tumbled at an annual rate of nearly 30 percent
in the fourth quarter and is projected to fall at a similar pace this quarter. The sharp
contraction in business purchases of motor vehicles continued this quarter, and spending
on high-tech equipment and software is falling more rapidly than we were projecting in
January. Outside of high tech and transportation, the downtrend in new orders suggests a
considerable drop in outlays in the near term, as do the poor readings on business
sentiment.
The downturn in nonresidential construction that we had been projecting for some time
now appears to be under way. Real outlays for nonresidential structures declined at an
annual rate of 9 percent in the fourth quarter, as an uptick in the drilling and mining
category was more than offset by sizable decreases elsewhere. And more recently,
nominal construction expenditures showed a much larger drop in January than we were
expecting. Given these latest readings and the more negative tone of the available
near-term indicators, we are now projecting that real outlays for nonresidential structures
will fall at an annual rate of 30 percent in the first half of this year, a somewhat steeper
rate of decline than we had projected in the January Greenbook.
Although businesses liquidated inventories at a robust pace last year, inventory-sales
ratios for many sectors appear elevated, as declines in final demand have outpaced the
inventory drawdowns. In the first half of this year, we expect total nonfarm inventories
to decrease at an annual rate of almost $100 billion. In the motor vehicle sector, the
reduction in stocks is concentrated in the first quarter, reflecting the protracted shutdowns
at many assembly plants. Outside of motor vehicles, the rate of inventory liquidation is
projected to intensify in the second quarter as firms continue to cut production to reduce
the size of their overhangs.
In the government sector, information through February from the Monthly Treasury
Statement suggests that real federal purchases will rise at an annual rate of only about
1¼ percent in the first quarter. This sluggish increase is primarily due to defense outlays,
which have been weaker than expected. We expect the pace of defense spending to pick
up again in the coming quarters. In the state and local sector, we estimate that real
outlays fell at an annual rate of 2 percent in the fourth quarter of last year, and the
available data for this quarter point to another decline. This trajectory is noticeably
weaker than we had projected in January, and it is consistent with widespread reports of
significant pressures on state and local budgets. We anticipate that outlays will turn up

I-12

Class II FOMC—Restricted (FR)

Part 1: Summary and Outlook, March 12, 2009

again in the second quarter as the grants included in the fiscal stimulus package help
cash-strapped states and municipalities avoid further spending cuts.
Both exports and imports retreated sharply in the fourth quarter of last year and appear
headed for comparable declines this quarter. Given our forecast for a further
deterioration in domestic and foreign demand, we expect the declines in exports and
imports to continue in the second quarter, albeit at a much slower pace. With imports and
exports anticipated to fall by about the same amount this quarter and next, the expected
contribution of net exports will be a neutral influence on the change in GDP in the first
half of this year.
Recent readings on consumer price inflation continue to be subdued. Core PCE prices
edged up 0.1 percent in January after three consecutive months of no change, and we
expect similarly small increases in February and March. As a result, our forecast for core
PCE inflation in the first quarter remains at a touch under 1 percent at an annual rate.
Core inflation is then expected to pick up to a 1½ percent rate in the second quarter,
largely reflecting an impending increase in federal tobacco taxes in April and a postal rate
hike in May. Meanwhile, given our forecast for further declines in consumer energy
prices this quarter and next, we project total PCE prices to be about flat, on balance, over
the first half of this year.
The Medium-Term Outlook
We project that real GDP will gradually flatten out over the second half of this year and
expand slowly next year, as the stresses in financial markets ease, the effects of fiscal
stimulus take hold, and the correction in housing activity comes to an end. Nevertheless,
with real GDP expected to increase only about 1½ percent next year, the output gap
remains wide throughout the forecast period and the unemployment rate averages
9½ percent in 2010.
Household sector. We expect consumer spending to turn up gradually toward the end of
this year, with real outlays expanding at an annual rate of just ½ percent in the second
half of 2009 and a little less than 2 percent in 2010. The recently passed tax cuts and
transfers will provide an important boost to disposable income in coming quarters.
Moreover, as in previous Greenbooks, we expect credit availability to improve and
income uncertainty to lessen as financial repair proceeds and the overall economy begins
to expand; these factors should gradually put spending on a modest upward trajectory.
That said, the projected pace of consumer spending is significantly restrained by the past

Domestic Developments

Class II FOMC—Restricted (FR) I-13

Projections of Real GDP
(Percent change at annual rate from end of
preceding period except as noted)
2008:
H2

2009:
H1

2009:
H2

2010

-3.6
-2.7

-4.2
-3.5

-.3
2.0

1.5
2.6

-4.0
-2.9

-3.4
-2.7

-1.5
.0

1.4
2.6

Personal consumption
expenditures
Previous Greenbook

-4.1
-3.9

.2
-.6

.6
1.9

1.9
2.9

Residential investment
Previous Greenbook

-19.8
-22.3

-37.9
-31.6

-9.5
-11.1

6.7
10.0

Business fixed investment
Previous Greenbook

-12.2
-7.4

-25.4
-19.5

-19.7
-13.8

-.9
3.0

Government purchases
Previous Greenbook

3.5
4.6

2.6
1.6

4.3
3.3

1.8
2.5

Exports
Previous Greenbook

-11.3
-9.2

-15.1
-3.9

-2.3
-.1

1.0
2.4

Imports
Previous Greenbook

-10.0
-9.6

-12.5
-6.9

3.2
5.8

3.8
5.4

Measure
Real GDP
Previous Greenbook
Final sales
Previous Greenbook

Contribution to growth
(percentage points)
Inventory change
Previous Greenbook

.4
.2

-.8
-.7

1.2
1.9

.1
.0

Net exports
Previous Greenbook

.3
.5

.1
.6

-.7
-.8

-.4
-.5

. . . Not applicable.

declines in wealth and our forecast for lackluster growth in real wages and salaries;
indeed, those factors are even more pronounced in this forecast than in the previous
Greenbook. Reflecting the outsized declines in household wealth, we expect the saving
rate to hold at a relatively high level—about 5¼ percent, on average— over the forecast
period as households work to repair their balance sheets.

I-14

Class II FOMC—Restricted (FR)

Part 1: Summary and Outlook, March 12, 2009

Residential investment. In light of the weaker-than-expected incoming data on new
home sales and starts, as well as the downward revisions that we made to our forecasts
for employment and stock market wealth, we lowered our projection for housing activity.
In particular, we pushed out the trough in single-family starts to the second quarter and
reduced the projected level of starts by about 175,000 units, on average, in the second
half of this year and next year. Although the level of housing activity is much lower, the
overall contour of sales and starts is similar to that in our previous projection. We expect
the improvement in affordability from falling house prices, low mortgage rates, and
government policies aimed at foreclosure mitigation to help stabilize demand later this
year. And we anticipate that the recovery in demand will gradually reduce the overhang
of unsold new homes and bring about a modest improvement in building activity. All
told, we project real residential investment to fall 25 percent this year—double the
decline in our previous forecast—and to rise 7 percent in 2010.
Business investment. We also marked down our projection for business investment this
year and next. Outlays for equipment and software (E&S) in the fourth quarter were
much weaker than we had anticipated, and in light of the weaker path for business output
and the continued downbeat readings on business sentiment and capital spending plans,
we have propagated much of this additional weakness forward. In particular, we now
project that real expenditures for E&S will decline about 20 percent this year,
7 percentage points more than in our previous projection. In 2010, we expect E&S
outlays to rise 5 percent, as the grip of adverse credit conditions begins to loosen and
business output growth turns positive.
We project that real investment in nonresidential structures will decline nearly 30 percent
this year and about 12 percent in 2010. High vacancy rates and falling prices for
commercial real estate suggest that demand has already weakened noticeably, and our
forecast for business output and employment suggests that the demand for commercial
space will deteriorate further. In addition, tight financing conditions are making it
difficult for builders to obtain new commercial real estate loans. New investment in
drilling and mining structures also seems likely to fall this year given last year’s steep
drop in oil and natural gas prices. However, we project investment in this sector to level
out in 2010 as oil and gas prices begin to move higher again.
We expect inventory reductions to slow over the second half of 2009 as firms adjust
production toward final sales. This projected slowing in the pace of inventory liquidation

Domestic Developments

Class II FOMC—Restricted (FR) I-15

contributes importantly to the leveling out in real GDP over the second half of this year.
In 2010, inventories are projected to be a relatively neutral influence on GDP growth.
Government spending. Although the weakness in the overall economy and current
budget pressures would otherwise imply a contraction in the state and local sector, we
continue to assume that state and local governments will use the grants provided in the
fiscal stimulus package to smooth their outlays. As a result, we expect state and local
spending to increase about 2 percent in 2009 and 1¾ percent in 2010. That said, we have
marked down our forecast for growth in this sector both this year and next in light of the
weaker outlook for tax revenues in this projection. At the federal level, we expect real
purchases to decelerate over the projection period, from 8¼ percent in 2008 to
5¾ percent in 2009 and 2 percent in 2010, as the rise in defense purchases slows.
Net exports. Consistent with the dismal outlook for foreign activity, real exports are
projected to decline steadily through the end of this year before flattening out in 2010.
Imports are also projected to decline further this year, as slumping domestic income
weighs heavily on demand for foreign goods and services. But with domestic demand
flattening out toward the end of this year and turning up next year, we expect imports to
rise about 3¾ percent in 2010. In sum, net exports are a modest drag on the GDP
projection beyond the near term, subtracting about ¼ percentage point from the annual
rate of change in 2009 and nearly ½ percentage point in 2010. (The International
Developments section provides more detail on the outlook for the external sector.)
Aggregate Supply, the Labor Market, and Inflation
In this forecast, we further reduced our estimates of structural productivity and potential
output growth to reflect the effects of the larger projected decrease in business investment
on capital deepening. We now assume that structural productivity will increase about
1½ percent in 2009 and 2010, and that potential GDP will rise 2 percent in both years.
By the end of 2010, the projected level of output falls short of potential by about
8¼ percent, up from 5½ percent in the January Greenbook.
Productivity and the labor market. We expect the pace of job losses to gradually slow
in the second half of this year as real economic activity begins to stabilize. Specifically,
our projection calls for private payroll employment to fall about 370,000 per month in the
second quarter and about 145,000 per month in the second half of this year. The
cumulative destruction of about 7½ million jobs over the cycle is anticipated to push the
unemployment rate up to 9½ percent in 2010. We expect firms to begin adding to

I-16

Part 1: Summary and Outlook, March 12, 2009

Class II FOMC—Restricted (FR)

Decomposition of Structural Labor Productivity
Nonfarm Business Sector
(Percent change, Q4 to Q4, except as noted)
1974- 1996- 200195
2000
06

Measure
Structural labor productivity
Previous Greenbook
Contributions1
Capital deepening
Previous Greenbook
Multifactor productivity
Previous Greenbook
Labor composition
MEMO
Potential GDP
Previous Greenbook

2007

2008

2009

2010

1.5
1.5

2.5
2.5

2.6
2.6

2.1
2.1

1.9
1.9

1.6
1.7

1.5
1.7

.7
.7
.5
.5
.3

1.4
1.4
.7
.7
.3

.7
.7
1.6
1.6
.3

.6
.6
1.2
1.2
.2

.4
.4
1.3
1.3
.2

-.3
-.1
1.7
1.6
.2

-.3
.1
1.7
1.5
.1

3.0
3.0

3.4
3.4

2.6
2.6

2.5
2.5

2.5
2.5

2.0
2.2

2.0
2.2

Note: Components may not sum to totals because of rounding. For multiyear periods, the
percent change is the annual average from Q4 of the year preceding the first year shown to Q4 of
the last year shown.
1. Percentage points.
. . . Not applicable.

The Outlook for the Labor Market
(Percent change, Q4 to Q4, except as noted)
Measure
Output per hour, nonfarm business
Previous Greenbook
Nonfarm private payroll employment
Previous Greenbook
Household survey employment
Previous Greenbook
Labor force participation rate1
Previous Greenbook
Civilian unemployment rate1
Previous Greenbook
MEMO
GDP gap2
Previous Greenbook

2007

2008

2009

2010

2.6
2.7
.8
.9
.4
.4
66.0
66.0
4.8
4.8

2.1
2.4
-2.1
-1.9
-1.5
-1.5
65.9
65.9
6.9
6.9

.9
1.1
-3.8
-2.2
-2.6
-1.1
65.3
65.5
9.2
8.4

2.0
2.0
-.1
1.0
.4
1.1
65.1
65.3
9.5
8.1

-.4
-.3

-3.7
-3.2

-7.7
-6.0

-8.2
-5.5

1. Percent, average for the fourth quarter.
2. Actual less potential GDP in the fourth quarter of the year indicated as a
percent of potential GDP. A negative number thus indicates that the economy
is operating below potential.
. . . Not applicable.

Domestic Developments

Class II FOMC—Restricted (FR) I-17

payrolls about the middle of 2010, but at a pace that is sufficient only to keep the
unemployment rate from rising further.
Productivity fell in the fourth quarter, and given the severity of the output decline that we
are projecting, we are anticipating another drop this quarter. Over 2009 as a whole, we
expect productivity to increase a good bit below the growth rate of structural
productivity. Productivity then accelerates in 2010 to above its structural rate, as the
economy recovers and firms lag slightly in their hiring.
Inflation Projections
(Percent change, Q4 to Q4, except as noted)
Measure

2007

2008

2009

2010

3.5
3.5

1.9
1.7

.4
.6

.8
1.1

Food and beverages
Previous Greenbook

4.5
4.5

6.3
6.2

1.9
2.0

1.2
1.2

Energy
Previous Greenbook

19.1
19.1

-8.6
-9.8

-11.3
-8.8

4.5
5.2

2.2
2.2

1.9
1.9

1.0
1.0

.5
.8

4.0
4.0

1.5
1.5

.3
.4

1.1
1.3

Excluding food and energy
Previous Greenbook

2.3
2.3

2.0
2.0

1.3
1.3

.7
1.0

GDP chain-weighted price index
Previous Greenbook

2.6
2.6

2.0
2.3

1.6
1.5

.8
.9

ECI for compensation of private
industry workers1
Previous Greenbook

3.0
3.0

2.4
2.5

1.8
1.9

1.1
1.5

Compensation per hour,
nonfarm business sector
Previous Greenbook

3.6
3.6

4.1
3.4

2.2
2.1

1.1
1.5

Prices of core goods imports2
Previous Greenbook

3.4
3.4

3.6
3.4

-4.2
-3.2

1.1
1.3

PCE chain-weighted price index
Previous Greenbook

Excluding food and energy
Previous Greenbook
Consumer price index
Previous Greenbook

1. December to December.
2. Core goods imports exclude computers, semiconductors, oil, and
natural gas.

I-18

Class II FOMC—Restricted (FR)

Part 1: Summary and Outlook, March 12, 2009

Wages and prices. Given the weaker outlook for economic activity in this forecast, we
are projecting a greater deceleration in core consumer prices than in the January
Greenbook. In particular, we anticipate that the considerable degree of slack in product
and labor markets will weigh heavily on pricing decisions and, more gradually, on
inflation expectations. In addition, the rise in the exchange value of the dollar and the
lagged effects of prior declines in commodity prices are expected to result in ongoing
reductions in core import prices this year. Reflecting these influences, we expect core
inflation to slow from 1.9 percent in 2008 to 1 percent in 2009 and to just ½ percent in
2010. Headline PCE prices are projected to rise ½ percent in 2009, reflecting a
moderation in food price inflation and a continued decline in energy prices. We expect
total PCE prices to rise ¾ percent in 2010, a bit more than core inflation, as energy prices
turn up again.
In light of the weaker outlook for the labor market and the slower projected pace of price
inflation, we have also marked down our forecast for compensation growth. In particular,
we now project that compensation per hour in the nonfarm business sector will rise
2¼ percent in 2009 and 1 percent in 2010; the forecast for 2010 is about ½ percentage
point lower than in the January Greenbook. Similarly, the change in the employment cost
index is projected to slow from 1¾ percent in 2009 to 1 percent in 2010.
The Long-Term Outlook
We have extended the staff forecast to 2013 using the FRB/US model, adjusted to
incorporate staff assessments of long-run potential output growth, fiscal policy, and
foreign economic conditions. The contour of the long-run outlook depends on the
following key assumptions:
• Monetary policy aims to stabilize PCE inflation at 2 percent in the long run,
consistent with the longer-term inflation projections provided by FOMC participants
in January. We have made no provision for further unconventional policy actions in
the construction of this extension beyond those that have already been announced.
• Risk premiums on corporate bonds and equity continue to fall back toward
historically more normal levels beyond 2010 as financial market strains abate further.
• The fiscal stimulus package continues to boost government spending beyond 2010,
reflecting the staff’s assumptions about the rate at which state and local governments
ramp up spending in response to increased grants. However, the level of government
spending from this source gradually fades and is small by 2013.
• Government budget deficits narrow after 2010. This improvement mostly reflects the
effects of the economic recovery on tax receipts and transfer payments.

Domestic Developments

Class II FOMC—Restricted (FR) I-19

The Long-Term Outlook
(Percent change, Q4 to Q4, except as noted)

Measure

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

Real GDP
Civilian unemployment rate1

-0.9
6.9

-2.3
9.2

1.5
9.5

3.9
8.6

5.3
6.9

5.3
5.6

PCE prices, total
Core PCE prices

1.9
1.9

0.4
1.0

0.8
0.5

0.6
0.5

0.7
0.6

0.9
0.8

Federal funds rate1

0.5

0.1

0.1

0.1

0.1

0.1

1. Percent, average for the final quarter of the period.

•

•

Beyond 2010, foreign real GDP expands 5 percent per year on average as the
economic recovery picks up speed abroad. The dollar is assumed to depreciate
3 percent per year in real terms. Nominal WTI crude oil prices rise gradually from
recent levels to a bit more than $60 per barrel by the end of 2013, consistent with
futures prices. Under these assumptions, movements in prices of energy and imports
have only minor implications for domestic inflation.
The NAIRU remains flat at 4¾ percent, and potential GDP expands a little more than
2¼ percent per year, on average, over the 2011-13 period.

The unemployment rate enters 2011 at a very high level, and inflation is well below the
assumed long-run target. Under the assumptions used to construct the baseline extension,
the federal funds rate remains at the effective lower bound through 2013. The lingering
effects of financial upheaval continue to fade after 2010, and the recovery in residential
construction gains momentum; coupled with stimulative monetary policy, these factors
propel real GDP to increases of almost 5 percent per year, on average, from 2011 through
2013. With actual output increasing faster than its potential by a wide margin, the
unemployment rate declines steadily over this period; nonetheless, it is still well above
the NAIRU at the end of 2013. Core PCE inflation moves up slightly after 2011 as
economic activity recovers and long-run inflation expectations are assumed to remain
relatively well anchored.
Financial Flows and Conditions
We expect that the increase in domestic nonfinancial debt will slow from an annual rate
of 6¼ percent in the fourth quarter of last year to 4½ percent in the current quarter, as
federal borrowing to address financial market strains slows somewhat from its extremely
high fourth-quarter rate. Excluding the federal sector, we forecast that the level of debt

I-20

Class II FOMC—Restricted (FR)

Part 1: Summary and Outlook, March 12, 2009

will edge down in the first quarter, as it did in the fourth quarter. We project that federal
debt will continue to expand at a rapid pace through the end of 2010, but that borrowing
by households and nonfinancial businesses will remain extremely weak by historical
standards.
We estimate that household debt contracted at an annual rate of about 2 percent last
quarter, and we expect a 2½ percent rate of decline this quarter. Mortgage borrowing and
consumer credit have been sharply curtailed by the effects of falling home prices, very
weak household spending, and tight terms and standards for loans. With these conditions
expected to persist well into this year and to ease only gradually thereafter, we expect
household debt to contract in 2009 and to only edge up in 2010.
Nonfinancial business debt is expected to rise at an annual rate of 3 percent this quarter,
up from a 1½ percent pace last quarter. The projected pickup arises from a sharp increase
in net issuance of corporate bonds so far this year, as firms took advantage of improved
market liquidity to bring out a spate of new offerings. However, we expect the pace of
corporate borrowing to slow next quarter and to remain sluggish through the end of the
forecast period, reflecting weak investment spending, continued high cost of borrowing
in the corporate bond market, and tight terms and standards for bank loans.
Federal government debt surged in the second half of 2008 at an annual rate of 40 percent
and is expected to increase nearly 27 percent in 2009 and about 15 percent in 2010. The
effects of cyclical shortfalls in tax receipts, a large fiscal stimulus package, and outlays
by the Treasury associated with the GSEs and the TARP are projected to result in federal
borrowing of nearly $1.7 trillion in 2009 and about $1.2 trillion in 2010. In the state and
local government sector, we anticipate that debt will rise at an annual rate of only
1¼ percent this quarter, in line with the pace last quarter, largely reflecting strained
conditions in the municipal bond market. Although we expect bond market conditions to
improve later this year, state and local government borrowing is projected to remain tepid
amid a weak underlying pace of spending and reliance on federal grants for funding.
M2 expanded at an average annual rate of about 9 percent during January and
February, a deceleration from the fourth quarter of last year. We expect M2 growth to
slow further over the remainder of this year, although the projected 3 percent increase for
2009 is still sizable given the contraction in economic activity. In 2010, we expect M2 to
increase in line with nominal GDP.

Domestic Developments

Class II FOMC—Restricted (FR) I-21

Alternative Scenarios
In this section, we illustrate risks to the staff forecast using simulations of the FRB/US
model. To gauge the importance of financial healing to the baseline projection, the first
scenario shows the consequences of a more delayed easing in financial strains. The
second considers the implications of an intensification of those strains. In contrast, the
third scenario involves a faster recovery in financial conditions, consumer sentiment, and
business confidence. The fourth scenario explores the possibility that the current
financial dislocations and associated disruptions to real activity may be having more
adverse consequences for the supply side of the economy than we estimate. The final
two scenarios examine opposing inflation risks—that long-run inflation expectations will
remain more solidly anchored than we anticipate, or alternatively, that we might have
underestimated deflationary pressures. In all of the scenarios, we assume that the federal
funds rate follows the prescriptions of a version of the Taylor rule, subject to an effective
lower bound of 12½ basis points. 3
Delayed financial repair. Our expectation that the economy will begin to recover next
year rests in part on the assumption of a gradual easing in financial market stresses and an
improvement in credit availability. To illustrate the importance of this assumption, in
this scenario, we assume risk spreads on private securities, mortgages, and corporate
equity remain at their current high levels through the end of 2010. In addition, the direct
effects on private spending of restricted credit availability do not ease appreciably next
year. Finally, the less favorable financial and economic conditions put additional
downward pressure on real estate values, leaving the level of house prices 5 percent
below baseline by the end of next year. In this environment, real GDP continues to
contract in 2010, the unemployment rate climbs to 10¼ percent, and inflation falls
somewhat below baseline. Beyond 2010, economic growth resumes as financial strains
finally begin to abate, but the recovery is weaker than in the baseline, in part because of
the rise in real interest rates that occurs with the nominal federal funds rate constrained
near zero.
Intensifying financial strains. Rather than easing as in the baseline, in this scenario we
assume that financial strains worsen, perhaps reflecting a more intense feedback loop

The rule is it = ρt + πt + 0.5(πt – π*) + 1.0yt , where it is the nominal funds rate, ρt is a weighted
moving average of past values of the real federal funds rate, πt is the four-quarter rate of core PCE inflation,
π* is the inflation target (assumed to equal 2 percent), and yt is the output gap.
3

I-22

Part 1: Summary and Outlook, March 12, 2009

Class II FOMC—Restricted (FR)

Alternative Scenarios
(Percent change, annual rate, from end of preceding period except as noted)

2009
Measure and scenario

2010 2011 201213

H1

H2

Real GDP
Extended Greenbook baseline
Delayed financial repair
Intensifying financial strains
Faster recovery
More adverse supply conditions
Anchored inflation expectations
Deflation

-4.2
-4.2
-7.0
-3.5
-4.6
-4.2
-4.2

-.3
-.8
-4.5
2.3
-1.6
-.3
-.3

1.5
-.4
1.0
3.1
.4
1.6
1.5

3.9
3.1
3.8
4.3
2.9
4.0
3.8

5.3
4.6
5.1
5.2
4.3
5.6
4.8

Unemployment rate1
Extended Greenbook baseline
Delayed financial repair
Intensifying financial strains
Faster recovery
More adverse supply conditions
Anchored inflation expectations
Deflation

8.7
8.7
9.0
8.6
8.8
8.7
8.7

9.2
9.2
10.2
8.8
9.4
9.2
9.2

9.5
10.2
11.1
8.4
10.0
9.5
9.5

8.6
9.7
10.1
7.3
9.3
8.5
8.6

5.6
7.0
7.1
4.4
6.4
5.4
5.9

Core PCE inflation
Extended Greenbook baseline
Delayed financial repair
Intensifying financial strains
Faster recovery
More adverse supply conditions
Anchored inflation expectations
Deflation

1.2
1.2
1.2
1.2
1.3
1.2
.8

.8
.8
.6
.8
1.1
.9
.3

.5
.4
-.1
.8
.9
.7
-.3

.5
.1
-.5
1.2
.9
.9
-.6

.7
-.2
-.9
1.7
1.1
1.3
-.9

Federal funds rate1
Extended Greenbook baseline
Delayed financial repair
Intensifying financial strains
Faster recovery
More adverse supply conditions
Anchored inflation expectations
Deflation

.1
.1
.1
.1
.1
.1
.1

.1
.1
.1
.1
.1
.1
.1

.1
.1
.1
.1
.1
.1
.1

.1
.1
.1
.1
.1
.1
.1

.1
.1
.1
3.9
.1
1.1
.1

1. Percent, average for the final quarter of the period.

between the poor health of financial institutions’ balance sheets and the weakness in real
activity. Risk premiums on investment-grade private securities, home mortgages, and
corporate equity are assumed to increase an additional 50 basis points, relative to
baseline, and to remain at these elevated levels into next year. Home prices fall more
rapidly, so that by late 2010 they stand 10 percent below baseline. Finally, credit

Domestic Developments

Class II FOMC—Restricted (FR) I-23

conditions become even more restrictive, directly impinging on consumer spending,
homebuilding, and business investment. Under these conditions, real GDP contracts
almost 6 percent this year, causing the unemployment rate to rise to 11 percent by the
middle of next year; in the face of such slack, core inflation falls steadily, dropping below
zero late in 2010 and reaching close to negative 1 percent by the end of the scenario.
Faster recovery. The historical record suggests that financial market conditions,
consumer sentiment, and business confidence can improve just as rapidly as they
deteriorate; as a result, the economy can quickly shift out of a recessionary state. In this
scenario, such a switch in growth states occurs this year, with the result that real GDP
expands at an annual rate of 2¼ percent in the second half of 2009 and 3 percent in 2010.
The stronger pace of spending and production is sufficient to limit the rise in the
unemployment rate so that it tops out just below 9 percent this year, and to put it on a
downward path next year. With the rapid recovery in real activity continuing into 2011
and beyond, inflation moves up substantially, reaching 1¾ percent by the end of the
scenario, 1 percentage point higher than in the baseline. Consequently, the liftoff of the
federal funds rate from the effective zero bound begins in mid-2012.
More adverse supply conditions. Although the financial crisis clearly has had
extremely adverse consequences for aggregate demand, we judge that its supply-side
effects have been more limited. However, this view may be too sanguine. Costly
reallocation of labor and capital across sectors is a feature of all recessions, but its toll on
productivity and the efficiency of the labor market this time could be more severe than
we have assumed. Moreover, the impairment of the financial intermediation process may
be hindering the allocation of capital to its most effective uses. Reflecting these risks,
this scenario assumes that trend productivity has expanded ¾ percentage point per year
more slowly than the staff estimates since mid-2007, and that this slower pace will persist
indefinitely. We further assume that the crisis will boost the equilibrium unemployment
rate by ¼ percentage point. This reinterpretation of history implies both less slack in
labor and goods markets and higher trend unit labor costs than in the baseline, factors that
result in less downward pressure on prices. Accordingly, core inflation never drops much
below 1 percent. Less-favorable supply conditions also imply lower permanent
household income and corporate earnings; as a result, real GDP contracts about 3 percent
this year and increases only a little in 2010.
Anchored inflation expectations. In the baseline scenario, core inflation drops to
½ percent in 2010 and lingers near that rate through 2012, as the upward impetus to

I-24

Class II FOMC—Restricted (FR)

Part 1: Summary and Outlook, March 12, 2009

prices from an improving economy is roughly offset by our assumption that long-term
inflation expectations will slowly drift down in the face of persistently low inflation and
high unemployment. In this scenario, long-run inflation expectations remain near their
current level of about 2 percent rather than declining to 1¼ percent as in the baseline.
This anchoring prevents any near-term decline in actual inflation from becoming
entrenched in wage and price formation. Inflation thus proves more resilient to
deteriorating economic conditions in the first few years of the scenario and turns upward
earlier than in the baseline. Even so, core inflation falls below 1 percent in 2010 and
2011, and the federal funds rate remains near zero until mid-2013. The lower real
interest rates implied by this monetary policy and higher inflation provide a modest boost
to real activity.
Deflation. Although inflation falls substantially in the staff projection, we may have
understated the extent to which adverse economic conditions will force firms, domestic
and foreign, to slash prices in an increasingly competitive environment. And, in fact,
some of our reduced-form price models point to a more pronounced decline in inflation
than we are projecting. In this scenario, domestic profit margins fall steadily over the
simulation period relative to baseline. Moreover, import prices continue to decline over
the next few years rather than rising slowly as in the staff projection. These forces
combine to drive core inflation below zero by late next year and close to negative
1 percent in 2013. With the nominal federal funds rate already near zero, the greater
disinflation implies higher real interest rates. At the same time, the increasing real
burden of nominal debt obligations boosts corporate bond spreads. Over time, these
factors work to restrain aggregate spending more than in the staff forecast, resulting in a
somewhat slower recovery in real activity after 2010.

Domestic Developments

Class II FOMC—Restricted (FR) I-25

Selected Greenbook Projections and 70 Percent Confidence Intervals Derived
from Historical Greenbook Forecast Errors and FRB/US Simulations
Measure
Real GDP
(percent change, Q4 to Q4)
Projection
Confidence interval
Greenbook forecast errors
FRB/US stochastic simulations
Civilian unemployment rate
(percent, Q4)
Projection
Confidence interval
Greenbook forecast errors
FRB/US stochastic simulations
PCE prices, total
(percent change, Q4 to Q4)
Projection
Confidence interval
Greenbook forecast errors
FRB/US stochastic simulations
PCE prices excluding
food and energy
(percent change, Q4 to Q4)
Projection
Confidence interval
Greenbook forecast errors
FRB/US stochastic simulations
Federal funds rate
(percent, Q4)
Projection
Confidence interval
FRB/US stochastic simulations

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

-2.3

1.5

3.9

5.3

5.3

-3.7– -.8
-3.2– -1.4

.1–3.0
.2–2.6

...
2.4–5.1

...
3.7–6.5

...
3.6–6.5

9.2

9.5

8.6

6.9

5.6

8.8–9.7
8.9–9.6

8.6–10.4
9.1–10.0

...
8.1–9.2

...
6.4–7.6

...
5.2–6.6

0.4

0.8

0.6

0.7

0.9

-.4–1.2
-.1–.9

-.3–1.8
.1–1.4

...
-.3–1.4

...
-.3–1.4

...
-.3–1.5

1.0

0.5

0.5

0.6

0.8

.5–1.5
.7–1.3

-.4–1.3
-.1–.9

...
-.3–1.0

...
-.3–1.1

...
-.2–1.3

0.1

0.1

0.1

0.1

0.1

.1–1.3

.1–1.8

.1–2.0

.1–2.0

.1–2.0

Notes: Intervals derived from Greenbook forecast errors are based on projections made from 1987-2007.
Shocks underlying FRB/US stochastic simulations are randomly drawn from the 1987-2007 set of
model equation residuals.
. . . Not applicable. The Greenbook forecast horizon has typically extended about two years.

I-26

Class II FOMC - Restricted (FR)

Forecast Confidence Intervals and Alternative Scenarios
Confidence Intervals Based on FRB/US Stochastic Simulations
Extended Greenbook baseline
Delayed financial repair
Intensifying financial strains

Faster recovery
More adverse supply conditions

Real GDP

Anchored inflation expectations
Deflation

Unemployment Rate
4-quarter percent change

Percent
8
7

10.5

5

10.0

4

9.5

3

9.0

2

70 percent interval

11.0

6

90 percent interval

11.5

8.5

1

8.0

0

7.5

-1

7.0

-2

6.5

-3

6.0

-4

5.5

-5

5.0

-6

4.5

-7
2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013

4.0
2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013

PCE Prices excluding Food and Energy

Federal Funds Rate

4-quarter percent change

Percent
2.5

6

2.0

5

1.5
4
1.0
3
0.5
2
0.0
1
-0.5
0

-1.0
2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013

2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013

I-27
Class II FOMC - Restricted (FR)

Evolution of the Staff Forecast
Change in Real GDP
Percent, Q4/Q4
3.5
3.0
2.5
2.0
1.5
1.0
0.5
0.0
-0.5
-1.0
-1.5
-2.0
-2.5
-3.0

2010
2009
2008

1/24

3/14

5/2

6/20

8/2

9/12

10/24 12/5

1/23

2007

3/13

4/23

6/18

7/30

9/10

10/22

12/10 1/22

3/12

4/22

2008

6/17

8/5

9/16

10/29 12/9

3.5
3.0
2.5
2.0
1.5
1.0
0.5
0.0
-0.5
-1.0
-1.5
-2.0
-2.5
-3.0

2009

Greenbook publication date

Unemployment Rate
Percent, fourth quarter
10.0

10.0

9.5

9.5

9.0

9.0

8.5

8.5

8.0

8.0

7.5

7.5

7.0

7.0

6.5

6.5

6.0

6.0
2010

5.5
4.5

1/24

3/14

5/2

5.5

2009

2008

5.0

5.0

6/20

8/2

2007

9/12

10/24 12/5

1/23

3/13

4/23

6/18

7/30

2008

9/10

10/22

12/10 1/22

3/12

4/22

Greenbook publication date

6/17

2009

8/5

9/16

10/29 12/9

4.5

Change in PCE Prices excluding Food and Energy
Percent, Q4/Q4
3.0

3.0

2.5

2.5

2.0

2.0
2008

2009

1.5

1.5
2010

1.0

1.0

0.5

0.5

0.0

1/24

3/14

5/2

6/20

8/2

2007

9/12

10/24 12/5

1/23

3/13

4/23

6/18

7/30

2008

9/10

10/22

12/10 1/22

Greenbook publication date

3/12

4/22

6/17

2009

8/5

9/16

10/29 12/9

0.0

3.8
.0
-1.7
3.2
3.3
3.8

4.9
1.9
.7
3.6
4.8
3.5
-.3
3.2

Two-quarter2
2008:Q2
Q4
2009:Q2
Q4
2010:Q2
Q4

Four-quarter3
2007:Q4
2008:Q4
2009:Q4
2010:Q4

Annual
2007
2008
2009
2010
4.8
3.3
-1.5
1.5

4.9
1.1
-.8
2.3

3.8
-1.6
-2.2
.7
1.9
2.7

3.5
4.1
3.4
-6.3
-3.3
-1.1
.6
.8
1.6
2.2
2.6
2.8

3/12/09

2.0
1.2
-2.1
2.1

2.3
-.5
-.8
2.6

1.8
-2.7
-3.5
2.0
2.3
2.9

.9
2.8
-.5
-4.9
-5.6
-1.3
1.8
2.1
2.2
2.4
2.7
3.1

1/22/09

2.0
1.1
-3.2
.6

2.3
-.9
-2.3
1.5

1.8
-3.6
-4.2
-.3
1.1
2.0

.9
2.8
-.5
-6.7
-6.5
-2.0
-.5
-.1
.7
1.4
1.9
2.1

3/12/09

Real GDP

2.6
3.3
-.2
1.2

3.5
1.7
.6
1.1

3.9
-.4
-.2
1.4
1.1
1.0

3.6
4.3
5.0
-5.6
-2.3
1.9
1.5
1.2
1.2
1.1
1.0
1.0

1/22/09

2.6
3.3
-.1
.9

3.5
1.9
.4
.8

3.9
-.1
-.2
1.0
.8
.7

3.6
4.3
5.0
-5.0
-1.4
1.0
1.1
1.0
.9
.8
.7
.7

3/12/09

PCE price index

March 12, 2009

2.2
2.2
1.2
.9

2.2
1.9
1.0
.8

2.2
1.5
1.2
.9
.8
.8

2.3
2.2
2.4
.6
.8
1.6
1.0
.8
.8
.8
.8
.7

1/22/09

2.2
2.2
1.2
.7

2.2
1.9
1.0
.5

2.2
1.6
1.2
.8
.5
.4

2.3
2.2
2.4
.8
.9
1.4
.9
.7
.6
.5
.5
.4

3/12/09

4.6
5.8
8.2
8.3

.4
2.1
1.5
-.3

.6
1.5
1.3
.2
.0
-.3

4.9
5.4
6.0
6.9
7.7
8.2
8.3
8.4
8.5
8.4
8.2
8.1

1/22/09

4.6
5.8
8.7
9.5

.4
2.1
2.3
.3

.6
1.5
1.8
.5
.3
.0

4.9
5.4
6.0
6.9
8.0
8.7
9.0
9.2
9.4
9.5
9.5
9.5

3/12/09

Core PCE price index Unemployment rate1

Changes in GDP, Prices, and Unemployment
(Percent, annual rate except as noted)

1. Level, except for two-quarter and four-quarter intervals.
2. Percent change from two quarters earlier; for unemployment rate, change is in percentage points.
3. Percent change from four quarters earlier; for unemployment rate, change is in percentage points.

3.5
4.1
3.4
-3.3
-4.3
1.0
3.2
3.2
3.2
3.4
3.6
4.0

1/22/09

Nominal GDP

Quarterly
2008:Q1
Q2
Q3
Q4
2009:Q1
Q2
Q3
Q4
2010:Q1
Q2
Q3
Q4

Interval

Class II FOMC
Restricted (FR)

I-28

Q1

-10
-10
-18
6

-51
-51
-55
2

3.9
3.9
6.6
7.3
5.0
2.5

-381
-381
12.3
-7.3

2.5
2.5
-5.0
-5.0
18.5
18.5

-13.3
-13.3

1.2
1.2
-2.8
3.9
.7

4.4
4.4
.7
.7

2.8
2.8

Q2
-.5
-.5

Q3

-30
-30
-33
2

5.8
5.8
13.8
18.0
5.1
1.3

-353
-353
3.0
-3.5

-1.7
-1.7
-7.5
-7.5
9.7
9.7

-16.0
-16.0

-3.8
-3.8
-14.8
-7.1
-.1

-1.3
-1.3
-4.1
-4.1

2008

-31
-43
-36
4

1.2
3.4
6.7
3.1
15.1
-2.0

-373
-359
-23.6
-16.0

-21.6
-12.9
-28.1
-20.3
-9.0
1.5

-23.4
-28.1

-4.3
-3.9
-22.0
-9.3
1.4

-6.5
-4.5
-7.5
-6.1

-6.7
-4.9

Q4

-101
-101
-101
1

-.2
.4
1.2
1.0
1.6
-1.1

-370
-322
-23.6
-19.7

-27.3
-19.8
-26.6
-19.0
-28.4
-21.0

-41.2
-40.7

.4
-1.7
2.4
-.1
.3

-4.3
-3.6
-5.3
-5.9

-6.5
-5.6

Q1

-87
-86
-87
1

5.5
2.8
9.1
11.2
4.8
3.3

-369
-324
-5.6
-4.7

-23.4
-19.3
-17.9
-13.2
-31.9
-28.7

-34.3
-21.0

.0
.6
-.5
.1
.0

-2.5
-1.8
-4.3
-2.8

-2.0
-1.3

Q2

-46
-33
-47
1

5.5
3.4
8.8
9.9
6.4
3.4

-384
-342
-3.2
1.0

-21.7
-15.9
-17.4
-9.8
-28.8
-25.6

-13.4
8.6

.0
1.7
4.2
.1
-.6

-1.9
-.1
-3.0
-.3

-.5
1.8

Q3

2009

-16
21
-17
1

3.1
3.1
3.8
1.3
9.5
2.7

-411
-375
-1.3
5.5

-17.8
-11.6
-13.6
-5.3
-24.9
-22.0

-5.5
13.8

1.2
2.0
5.5
.8
.7

-1.2
.2
-1.2
.7

-.1
2.1

Q4

13
47
11
1

2.6
3.1
4.3
.5
12.6
1.5

-438
-406
-.3
6.0

-11.1
-4.1
-8.3
.0
-16.1
-11.5

2.5
10.5

1.3
2.6
4.6
.7
1.1

-.3
1.3
.1
2.1

.7
2.2

Q1

Changes in Real Gross Domestic Product and Related Items
(Percent, annual rate except as noted)

1. Change from fourth quarter of previous year to fourth quarter of year indicated.
2. Billions of chained (2000) dollars.

Change in bus. inventories2
Previous Greenbook2
Nonfarm2
Farm2

1.9
1.9
5.8
7.3
2.9
-.3

Govt. cons. & invest.
Previous Greenbook
Federal
Defense
Nondefense
State & local

Residential investment
Previous Greenbook

-462
-462
5.1
-.8

-25.1
-25.1

Personal cons. expend.
Previous Greenbook
Durables
Nondurables
Services

Net exports2
Previous Greenbook2
Exports
Imports

.9
.9
-4.3
-.4
2.4

Final sales
Previous Greenbook
Priv. dom. final purch.
Previous Greenbook

2.4
2.4
-.6
-.6
8.6
8.6

.9
.9
-.3
-.3

Real GDP
Previous Greenbook

Business fixed invest.
Previous Greenbook
Equipment & software
Previous Greenbook
Nonres. structures
Previous Greenbook

.9
.9

Item

Class II FOMC
Restricted (FR)

0
31
-2
1

2.1
2.7
2.6
.3
7.3
1.8

-436
-406
.6
.2

-1.6
2.7
5.2
9.6
-13.4
-9.5

9.0
7.3

1.8
2.8
7.4
2.0
.9

1.9
3.0
1.7
2.9

1.4
2.4

Q2

2.1
3.1
4.7
3.0
1.3

2.1
3.3
2.4
3.8

1.9
2.7

Q3

-6
15
-7
1

1.5
2.2
.3
2.1
-3.1
2.2

-442
-414
1.5
2.5

3.2
6.4
11.1
13.4
-11.0
-6.6

8.7
11.3

2010

3.2
3.8
8.2
8.8
6.9
.4
-30
-33
-36
4

0
22
-2
1

-392
-389
-1.8
-7.1

-5.2
-2.6
-11.0
-8.7
6.4
9.4

-19.6
-20.9

-1.5
-1.4
-11.3
-3.4
1.1

-.7
-.2
-2.8
-2.5

-.9
-.5

20081

1.2
2.1
.9
2.2
-1.8
1.4

-464
-438
2.1
6.6

6.6
7.5
14.3
13.7
-8.1
-4.9

6.8
11.0

2.4
3.2
2.7
2.9
2.1

1.9
2.9
2.9
3.9

2.1
3.1

Q4

-62
-50
-63
1

3.4
2.4
5.7
5.8
5.5
2.1

-383
-341
-8.9
-5.0

-22.6
-16.7
-19.0
-12.0
-28.5
-24.4

-25.0
-12.8

.4
.6
2.9
.2
.1

-2.5
-1.3
-3.5
-2.1

-2.3
-.8

20091

2
29
0
1

1.8
2.5
2.0
1.3
3.6
1.7

-445
-416
1.0
3.8

-.9
3.0
5.2
9.0
-12.2
-8.2

6.7
10.0

1.9
2.9
4.8
2.2
1.4

1.4
2.6
1.8
3.2

1.5
2.6

20101

March 12, 2009

I-29

1. Billions of chained (2000) dollars.

12
12
15
-2

4.0
4.0
7.8
8.4
6.8
2.1

Govt. cons. & invest.
Previous Greenbook
Federal
Defense
Nondefense
State & local

Change in bus. inventories1
Previous Greenbook1
Nonfarm1
Farm1

-471
-471
3.8
9.7

7.0
7.0

Residential investment
Previous Greenbook

Net exports1
Previous Greenbook1
Exports
Imports

1.9
1.9
1.2
2.1
1.9

Personal cons. expend.
Previous Greenbook
Durables
Nondurables
Services

-6.5
-6.5
-3.4
-3.4
-14.9
-14.9

.8
.8
1.1
1.1

Final sales
Previous Greenbook
Priv. dom. final purch.
Previous Greenbook

Business fixed invest.
Previous Greenbook
Equipment & software
Previous Greenbook
Nonres. structures
Previous Greenbook

1.9
1.9

2002

14
14
14
0

1.7
1.7
5.5
7.5
1.9
-.4

-519
-519
5.8
4.8

4.9
4.9
6.6
6.6
.2
.2

11.7
11.7

3.4
3.4
8.3
3.9
2.2

3.7
3.7
4.1
4.1

3.7
3.7

2003

54
54
48
6

.7
.7
2.4
2.5
2.3
-.4

-594
-594
7.4
11.5

7.5
7.5
9.4
9.4
2.3
2.3

6.7
6.7

3.7
3.7
5.6
3.5
3.3

2.8
2.8
4.3
4.3

3.1
3.1

2004

39
39
39
0

.6
.6
1.0
.8
1.4
.3

-617
-617
7.0
4.8

4.9
4.9
7.0
7.0
-.5
-.5

5.4
5.4

2.6
2.6
1.2
3.6
2.4

2.7
2.7
3.1
3.1

2.7
2.7

2005

42
42
46
-3

2.1
2.1
2.9
4.1
.5
1.6

-616
-616
10.1
3.8

6.5
6.5
4.2
4.2
12.8
12.8

-15.5
-15.5

3.2
3.2
6.9
3.2
2.6

2.8
2.8
2.3
2.3

2.4
2.4

2006

-2
-2
-4
1

2.4
2.4
2.3
2.7
1.5
2.4

-547
-547
8.9
1.1

6.4
6.4
2.8
2.8
14.5
14.5

-19.0
-19.0

2.2
2.2
4.2
1.7
2.1

2.5
2.5
1.4
1.4

2.3
2.3

2007

-30
-33
-36
4

3.2
3.8
8.2
8.8
6.9
.4

-392
-389
-1.8
-7.1

-5.2
-2.6
-11.0
-8.7
6.4
9.4

-19.6
-20.9

-1.5
-1.4
-11.3
-3.4
1.1

-.7
-.2
-2.8
-2.5

-.9
-.5

2008

-62
-50
-63
1

3.4
2.4
5.7
5.8
5.5
2.1

-383
-341
-8.9
-5.0

-22.6
-16.7
-19.0
-12.0
-28.5
-24.4

-25.0
-12.8

.4
.6
2.9
.2
.1

-2.5
-1.3
-3.5
-2.1

-2.3
-.8

2
29
0
1

1.8
2.5
2.0
1.3
3.6
1.7

-445
-416
1.0
3.8

-.9
3.0
5.2
9.0
-12.2
-8.2

6.7
10.0

1.9
2.9
4.8
2.2
1.4

1.4
2.6
1.8
3.2

1.5
2.6

2010

March 12, 2009

2009

Changes in Real Gross Domestic Product and Related Items
(Change from fourth quarter of previous year to fourth quarter of year indicated, unless otherwise noted)

Real GDP
Previous Greenbook

Item

Class II FOMC
Restricted (FR)

I-30

Q1

.0
.0
.2
-.2

-1.5
-1.5
-1.4
-.1

.8
.8
.5
.4
.1
.3

2.9
2.9
1.5
1.4

.3
.3
-.4
-.4
.6
.6

-.5
-.5

.9
.9
-.2
.8
.3

4.3
4.3
.6
.6

2.8
2.8

Q2
-.5
-.5

Q3

.8
.8
.8
.0

1.1
1.1
1.0
.9
.1
.2

1.1
1.1
.4
.7

-.2
-.2
-.6
-.6
.4
.4

-.6
-.6

-2.8
-2.8
-1.2
-1.6
.0

-1.4
-1.4
-3.5
-3.5

2008

-.1
-.4
-.1
.0

.3
.7
.5
.2
.3
-.2

-.6
-.1
-3.5
3.0

-2.6
-1.5
-2.2
-1.5
-.4
.1

-.9
-1.1

-3.0
-2.7
-1.7
-2.0
.7

-6.6
-4.5
-6.4
-5.2

-6.7
-4.9

Q4

-2.2
-2.0
-2.2
.0

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

.1
1.2
-3.2
3.3

-3.2
-2.3
-2.0
-1.4
-1.3
-.9

-1.5
-1.5

.4
-1.1
.2
.0
.2

-4.2
-3.5
-4.4
-4.9

-6.5
-5.6

Q1

.5
.6
.5
.0

1.1
.6
.7
.6
.1
.4

.0
-.1
-.6
.7

-2.6
-2.1
-1.2
-.9
-1.4
-1.3

-1.1
-.6

.0
.4
.0
.0
.0

-2.5
-1.8
-3.6
-2.4

-2.0
-1.3

Q2
-.5
1.8

Q3

1.4
1.9
1.4
.0

1.1
.7
.7
.5
.2
.4

-.5
-.6
-.4
-.1

-2.2
-1.6
-1.1
-.6
-1.1
-1.0

-.3
.2

.0
1.2
.3
.0
-.3

-1.9
-.1
-2.5
-.2

2009

1.1
1.9
1.0
.0

.7
.7
.3
.1
.2
.4

-.9
-1.1
-.1
-.7

-1.7
-1.1
-.8
-.3
-.9
-.8

-.1
.3

.8
1.4
.4
.2
.3

-1.2
.2
-1.0
.6

-.1
2.1

Q4

1.0
.9
1.0
.0

.6
.7
.4
.0
.3
.2

-.9
-1.0
.0
-.8

-1.0
-.4
-.5
.0
-.5
-.4

.1
.3

1.0
1.8
.3
.1
.5

-.3
1.3
.1
1.7

.7
2.2

Q1

-.4
-.6
-.4
.0

.5
.6
.2
.0
.2
.2

.0
.0
.1
.0

-.1
.2
.3
.5
-.4
-.3

.2
.2

1.3
1.9
.5
.4
.4

1.9
3.0
1.4
2.4

1.4
2.4

-.2
-.6
-.2
.0

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

-.2
-.3
.2
-.4

.3
.6
.6
.7
-.3
-.2

.2
.3

1.5
2.2
.3
.6
.6

2.1
3.3
2.0
3.0

1.9
2.7

Q3

2010
Q2

Contributions to Changes in Real Gross Domestic Product
(Percentage points, annual rate except as noted)

1. Change from fourth quarter of previous year to fourth quarter of year indicated.

Change in bus. inventories
Previous Greenbook
Nonfarm
Farm

.4
.4
.4
.3
.1
.0

Govt. cons. & invest.
Previous Greenbook
Federal
Defense
Nondefense
State & local

Residential investment
Previous Greenbook

.8
.8
.6
.1

-1.1
-1.1

Personal cons. expend.
Previous Greenbook
Durables
Nondurables
Services

Net exports
Previous Greenbook
Exports
Imports

.6
.6
-.3
-.1
1.0

Final sales
Previous Greenbook
Priv. dom. final purch.
Previous Greenbook

.3
.3
.0
.0
.3
.3

.9
.9
-.3
-.3

Real GDP
Previous Greenbook

Business fixed invest.
Previous Greenbook
Equipment & software
Previous Greenbook
Nonres. structures
Previous Greenbook

.9
.9

Item

Class II FOMC
Restricted (FR)

.2
.2
.2
.0

.3
.5
.1
.1
.0
.2

-.7
-.8
.2
-.9

.5
.6
.7
.8
-.2
-.1

.2
.3

1.7
2.3
.2
.6
.9

1.9
2.9
2.4
3.2

2.1
3.1

Q4

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

.6
.7
.6
.4
.2
.0

1.0
1.1
-.2
1.2

-.6
-.3
-.8
-.6
.2
.3

-.8
-.8

-1.1
-1.0
-.9
-.7
.5

-.7
-.2
-2.4
-2.1

-.9
-.5

20081

.2
.6
.2
.0

.7
.5
.4
.3
.1
.3

-.3
-.1
-1.1
.8

-2.4
-1.8
-1.2
-.8
-1.1
-1.0

-.8
-.4

.3
.4
.2
.0
.0

-2.5
-1.3
-2.9
-1.7

-2.3
-.8

20091

.1
.0
.1
.0

.4
.5
.2
.1
.1
.2

-.4
-.5
.1
-.5

-.1
.3
.3
.5
-.4
-.3

.2
.3

1.4
2.0
.3
.4
.6

1.4
2.6
1.4
2.6

1.5
2.6

20101

March 12, 2009

I-31

Q1

3.6
3.6
19.0
19.0
4.9
4.9
2.3
2.3
4.5
4.3
2.5
2.5

GDP chain-wt. price index
Previous Greenbook

PCE chain-wt. price index
Previous Greenbook
Energy
Previous Greenbook
Food
Previous Greenbook
Ex. food & energy
Previous Greenbook

CPI

2.6
2.6
3.7
3.8
1.1
1.2
8.5
8.5

Nonfarm business sector
Output per hour
Previous Greenbook
Compensation per hour
Previous Greenbook
Unit labor costs
Previous Greenbook

Core goods imports chain-wt price index3
Previous Greenbook3
10.6
10.6

4.7
3.6
1.7
.9
-2.8
-2.6

2.3
2.3

4.5
5.0
2.0
1.9

4.3
4.3
27.4
27.4
6.4
6.4
2.2
2.2

1.1
1.1

Q2

4.6
4.6

2.2
1.5
5.7
4.1
3.5
2.6

2.6
2.6

6.2
6.7
2.8
3.2

5.0
5.0
31.7
31.7
8.5
8.5
2.4
2.4

3.9
3.9

Q3

2008

-8.3
-9.0

-.9
1.7
5.2
4.7
6.2
3.0

1.9
2.2

-8.3
-9.2
.6
.4

-5.0
-5.6
-65.1
-66.8
5.6
5.0
.8
.6

.3
1.7

Q4

-10.0
-9.4

-1.1
-3.2
2.5
2.0
3.7
5.4

2.0
2.0

-2.4
-3.7
1.3
.9

-1.4
-2.3
-36.0
-45.4
1.8
2.4
.9
.8

3.4
1.3

Q1

-4.7
-3.0

2.4
.6
2.7
2.4
.3
1.8

1.9
1.9

.9
2.1
1.6
1.7

1.0
1.9
-7.8
8.8
1.8
1.8
1.4
1.6

.9
2.3

Q2

Q3

-2.1
-1.0

1.3
3.4
2.1
2.1
.8
-1.3

1.8
1.8

1.4
1.9
1.2
1.3

1.1
1.5
1.9
9.5
2.1
2.0
.9
1.0

1.1
1.4

2009

Changes in Prices and Costs
(Percent, annual rate except as noted)

1. Change from fourth quarter of previous year to fourth quarter of year indicated.
2. Private-industry workers.
3. Core goods imports exclude computers, semiconductors, oil, and natural gas.

3.0
3.0

ECI, hourly compensation2
Previous Greenbook2

Previous Greenbook
Ex. food & energy
Previous Greenbook

2.6
2.6

Item

Class II FOMC
Restricted (FR)

.4
.8

1.2
3.7
1.5
1.8
.3
-1.8

1.5
1.8

1.3
1.6
1.0
1.1

1.0
1.2
2.6
6.4
1.9
1.7
.7
.8

.9
1.1

Q4

1.0
1.3

2.1
2.6
1.3
1.6
-.8
-.9

1.3
1.6

1.2
1.5
.8
1.0

.9
1.2
4.4
6.9
1.3
1.3
.6
.8

.8
1.0

Q1

1.2
1.3

2.0
1.8
1.2
1.5
-.8
-.3

1.2
1.6

1.1
1.4
.7
1.0

.8
1.1
4.8
5.7
1.2
1.2
.5
.8

.8
1.0

Q2

1.1
1.3

1.9
1.7
1.1
1.5
-.8
-.2

1.1
1.5

1.0
1.3
.7
1.0

.7
1.0
4.4
4.5
1.1
1.2
.5
.8

.7
.9

Q3

2010

1.1
1.3

1.8
2.0
1.0
1.4
-.7
-.6

1.0
1.5

1.0
1.2
.6
.9

.7
1.0
4.3
3.8
1.1
1.1
.4
.7

.6
.8

Q4

3.6
3.4

2.1
2.4
4.1
3.4
1.9
1.0

2.4
2.5

1.5
1.5
2.0
2.0

1.9
1.7
-8.6
-9.8
6.3
6.2
1.9
1.9

2.0
2.3

20081

-4.2
-3.2

.9
1.1
2.2
2.1
1.3
1.0

1.8
1.9

.3
.4
1.3
1.3

.4
.6
-11.3
-8.8
1.9
2.0
1.0
1.0

1.6
1.5

20091

1.1
1.3

2.0
2.0
1.1
1.5
-.8
-.5

1.1
1.5

1.1
1.3
.7
1.0

.8
1.1
4.5
5.2
1.2
1.2
.5
.8

.8
.9

20101

March 12, 2009

I-32

1.8
1.8
7.7
7.7
1.3
1.3
1.6
1.6
2.3
2.3
2.1
2.1

PCE chain-wt price index
Previous Greenbook
Energy
Previous Greenbook
Food
Previous Greenbook
Ex. food & energy
Previous Greenbook

CPI

1.6
1.6

4.7
4.7
5.3
5.3
.5
.5

4.0
4.0

2.0
2.0
1.2
1.2

1.9
1.9
7.6
7.6
2.6
2.6
1.4
1.4

2.2
2.2

2003

3.6
3.6

1.8
1.8
3.9
3.9
2.1
2.1

3.8
3.8

3.4
3.4
2.2
2.1

3.1
3.1
18.3
18.3
2.9
2.9
2.2
2.2

3.2
3.2

2004

1. Private-industry workers.
2. Core goods imports exclude computers, semiconductors, oil and natural gas.

.1
.1

2.9
2.9
3.2
3.2
.2
.2

Nonfarm business sector
Output per hour
Previous Greenbook
Compensation per hour
Previous Greenbook
Unit labor costs
Previous Greenbook

Core goods imports chain-wt. price index2
Previous Greenbook2

3.1
3.1

ECI, hourly compensation1
Previous Greenbook1

Previous Greenbook
Ex. food & energy
Previous Greenbook

1.7
1.7

2002

2.2
2.2

1.5
1.5
3.6
3.6
2.1
2.1

2.9
2.9

3.8
3.8
2.1
2.1

3.3
3.3
23.1
23.1
2.1
2.1
2.2
2.2

3.5
3.5

2005

2.4
2.4

.6
.6
4.2
4.3
3.7
3.6

3.2
3.2

1.9
1.9
2.7
2.7

1.9
1.9
-4.0
-4.0
2.3
2.3
2.3
2.3

2.8
2.8

2006

3.4
3.4

2.6
2.7
3.6
3.6
.9
.9

3.0
3.0

4.0
4.0
2.3
2.3

3.5
3.5
19.1
19.1
4.5
4.5
2.2
2.2

2.6
2.6

2007

3.6
3.4

2.1
2.4
4.1
3.4
1.9
1.0

2.4
2.5

1.5
1.5
2.0
2.0

1.9
1.7
-8.6
-9.8
6.3
6.2
1.9
1.9

2.0
2.3

2008

-4.2
-3.2

.9
1.1
2.2
2.1
1.3
1.0

1.8
1.9

.3
.4
1.3
1.3

.4
.6
-11.3
-8.8
1.9
2.0
1.0
1.0

1.6
1.5

1.1
1.3

2.0
2.0
1.1
1.5
-.8
-.5

1.1
1.5

1.1
1.3
.7
1.0

.8
1.1
4.5
5.2
1.2
1.2
.5
.8

.8
.9

2010

March 12, 2009

2009

Changes in Prices and Costs
(Change from fourth quarter of previous year to fourth quarter of year indicated, unless otherwise noted)

GDP chain-wt price index
Previous Greenbook

Item

Class II FOMC
Restricted (FR)

I-33

1.1
15.2
3.5
-.7
-.7
.2
.2
-4.3 -14.3 -4.7 -34.0
11.2 10.6 10.4
9.6
-331
-52
12.4
.0

Income and saving
Nominal GDP5
Real disposable pers. income5
Previous Greenbook5
Personal saving rate3
Previous Greenbook3

Corporate profits7
Profit share of GNP3

Net federal saving8
Net state & local saving8

Gross national saving rate3
Net national saving rate3

3.4
-8.5
-8.8
1.3
1.2

12.7
-.3

-523
-71

-6.3
3.3
4.6
3.2
3.3

.7
10.3

-24.2
8.4

-1.1
4.3
1.9
5.6
5.8

.4
9.3

-9.3
-2.3
-9.9
-2.0
65.8
68.3

-1.4
8.7
8.2
-6.7
-5.9

Q2

-6.5
8.2

.6
-1.6
-.1
5.3
5.4

.4
9.8

-2.6
1.4
-2.0
3.2
65.6
68.8

-.4
9.0
8.3
-7.3
-6.0

Q3

-.8
8.2

.8
1.5
1.0
5.4
5.2

.5
10.4

-.2
2.6
.3
3.7
65.8
69.4

-.3
9.2
8.4
-7.7
-6.0

Q4

11.3
-2.2

10.3
-3.6

9.7
-4.3

9.5
-4.7

-852 -1,018 -1,083 -1,132
-34
-79
-47
-48

-26.4
9.0

-3.3
6.4
7.4
4.6
5.4

.4
9.2

-18.3
-13.8
-21.7
-17.3
67.4
68.6

-2.0
8.0
7.7
-5.7
-5.1

Q1

2009

Other Macroeconomic Indicators

8.1
8.4

2.2
1.1
1.9
5.4
5.0

.6
11.7

3.0
2.9
2.9
3.0
67.5
70.7

.2
9.5
8.4
-8.2
-5.9

Q2

6.3
8.5

2.6
1.4
2.5
5.2
4.9

.6
12.2

3.1
4.2
2.9
4.5
68.3
71.6

-.1
9.5
8.2
-8.2
-5.8

Q3

6.4
8.5

2.8
1.3
2.3
5.0
4.7

.6
12.4

3.5
4.3
3.1
4.1
69.2
72.4

.2
9.5
8.1
-8.2
-5.5

Q4

9.1
-5.2

9.2
-5.1

9.0
-5.4

9.0
-5.4

-1,184 -1,167 -1,213 -1,208
-43
-49
-39
-39

5.2
8.3

1.6
1.7
2.4
5.5
5.2

.5
10.8

2.7
3.5
2.5
3.5
66.6
70.1

-.3
9.4
8.5
-8.0
-5.9

Q1

2010

1. Change from fourth quarter of previous year to fourth quarter of year indicated, unless otherwise indicated.
2. Change, millions.
3. Percent, annual values are for the fourth quarter of the year indicated.
4. Percent difference between actual and potential GDP; a negative number indicates that the economy is operating below potential.
Annual values are for the fourth quarter of the year indicated.
5. Percent change, annual rate.
6. Level, millions, annual values are annual averages.
7. Percent change, annual rate, with inventory valuation and capital consumption adjustments.
8. Billions of dollars, annual values are annual averages.

11.3 11.5
-1.3 -1.8

-650 -544
-67 -104

4.1
10.7
10.7
2.5
2.5

1.0
.9
14.1 12.9

-12.1
-11.5
-17.4
-16.2
71.7
71.9

-1.3
6.9
6.9
-3.7
-3.2

Housing starts6
Light motor vehicle sales6

-3.4 -8.9
-3.4 -8.9
-4.1 -8.7
-4.1 -8.8
77.5 75.5
77.5 75.5

-.5
6.0
6.0
-1.4
-1.3

.4
.4
-1.0
-1.0
78.7
78.7

-.4
5.4
5.4
-.7
-.6

Industrial production5
Previous Greenbook5
Manufacturing industr. prod.5
Previous Greenbook5
Capacity utilization rate - mfg.3
Previous Greenbook3

Q4

-.1
4.9
4.9
-.8
-.7

Q3

Employment and production
Nonfarm payroll employment2
Unemployment rate3
Previous Greenbook3
GDP gap4
Previous Greenbook4

Q2

Q1

2008

Item

Class II FOMC
Restricted (FR)

-15.2
8.2

-.8
2.6
2.5
5.4
5.2

.4
9.7

-7.9
-3.2
-8.7
-3.5
65.8
69.4

-4.1
9.2
8.4
-7.7
-6.0

20091

6.5
8.5

2.3
1.4
2.3
5.0
4.7

.6
11.8

3.1
3.7
2.9
3.8
69.2
72.4

.0
9.5
8.1
-8.2
-5.5

20101

12.7
-.3

9.5
-4.7

9.0
-5.4

-512 -1,022 -1,193
-73
-52
-42

-15.2
9.6

1.1
1.0
1.2
3.2
3.3

.9
13.1

-6.1
-6.0
-8.0
-7.7
71.7
71.9

-2.3
6.9
6.9
-3.7
-3.2

20081

March 12, 2009

I-34

-248
-34
13.6
1.5

Net federal saving7
Net state & local saving7

Gross national saving rate2
Net national saving rate2

13.7
1.9

-372
-20

12.6
9.5

5.9
3.7
3.7
2.2
2.2

1.8
16.6

1.5
1.5
1.7
1.7
74.8
74.8

-.1
5.8
5.8
-1.8
-1.7

2003

13.8
2.1

-371
2

20.3
10.8

6.5
4.1
4.1
2.5
2.5

2.0
16.8

3.1
3.1
3.7
3.7
77.5
77.5

2.0
5.4
5.4
-.8
-.7

2004

15.0
2.8

-292
29

18.8
12.0

6.3
.9
.9
.8
.8

2.1
16.9

2.6
2.6
3.7
3.7
79.2
79.2

2.4
4.9
4.9
-.3
-.2

2005

15.5
3.4

-201
46

6.9
12.2

5.3
3.6
3.6
.9
.9

1.8
16.5

1.7
1.7
1.1
1.1
79.0
79.0

2.1
4.4
4.4
-.2
-.1

2006

13.4
1.2

-229
10

-2.0
11.3

4.9
1.8
1.8
.4
.4

1.4
16.1

2.1
2.1
2.3
2.3
79.3
79.3

1.2
4.8
4.8
-.4
-.3

2007

12.7
-.3

-512
-73

-15.2
9.6

1.1
1.0
1.2
3.2
3.3

.9
13.1

-6.1
-6.0
-8.0
-7.7
71.7
71.9

-2.3
6.9
6.9
-3.7
-3.2

2008

9.5
-4.7

-1022
-52

-15.2
8.2

-.8
2.6
2.5
5.4
5.2

.4
9.7

-7.9
-3.2
-8.7
-3.5
65.8
69.4

-4.1
9.2
8.4
-7.7
-6.0

2009

9.0
-5.4

-1193
-42

6.5
8.5

2.3
1.4
2.3
5.0
4.7

.6
11.8

3.1
3.7
2.9
3.8
69.2
72.4

.0
9.5
8.1
-8.2
-5.5

1. Change, millions.
2. Percent, values are for the fourth quarter of the year indicated.
3. Percent difference between actual and potential GDP; a negative number indicates that the economy is operating below potential.
Values are for the fourth quarter of the year indicated.
4. Percent change.
5. Level, millions, values are annual averages.
6. Percent change, with inventory valuation and capital consumption adjustments.
7. Billions of dollars,values are annual averages.

20.6
9.0

1.7
16.7

Housing starts5
Light motor vehicle sales5

Corporate profits6
Profit share of GNP2

2.6
2.6
2.6
2.6
73.2
73.2

Industrial production4
Previous Greenbook4
Manufacturing industr. prod.4
Previous Greenbook4
Capacity utilization rate - mfg.2
Previous Greenbook2

3.6
2.9
2.9
1.8
1.8

-.7
5.8
5.8
-2.6
-2.5

Employment and production
Nonfarm payroll employment1
Unemployment rate2
Previous Greenbook2
GDP gap3
Previous Greenbook3

Income and saving
Nominal GDP4
Real disposable pers. income4
Previous Greenbook4
Personal saving rate2
Previous Greenbook2

2002

Item

2010

March 12, 2009

Other Macroeconomic Indicators
(Change from fourth quarter of previous year to fourth quarter of year indicated, unless otherwise noted)

Class II FOMC
Restricted (FR)

I-35

2607
3047
910
624
286
2136
-440
134

372

768
-296
-17

2524
2978
-455
-455
-638
183

-426
1.3
0.8
0.8

-222

-458

-221

-0.3
0.2
0.2

0.9
1.0

1.4

-647

-898

2445
3315
985
674
311
2330
-869
152

260

2062
112
-258

2193
4108
-1915
-1791
-2048
133

2009

Fiscal year
2008a

2624
2832
842
569
273
1990
-209
123

75

206
-23
-22

2568
2729
-162
-162
-343
181

2007a

0.9
1.0

0.9

-802

-1203

2428
3602
1053
707
346
2548
-1174
158

50

1031
210
-20

2259
3480
-1221
-1033
-1353
132

2010

0.1
0.1

0.6

-322

-344

2673
3003
898
614
284
2105
-331
129

46

200
11
-5

540
746
-206
-206
-237
31

Q1a

0.5
0.5

2.2

-641

-671

2479
3128
918
629
289
2210
-650
138

53

-48
-7
29

788
761
27
27
-64
91

Q2a

372

526
-318
-39

590
759
-169
-169
-171
2

Q3a

0.7
0.7

-1.0

-502

-569

2596
3140
954
660
295
2186
-544
144

2008

-0.3
-0.2

-0.7

-406

-552

2590
3113
957
656
301
2155
-523
149

367

561
5
-81

547
1033
-485
-485
-538
53

Q4a

2009
Q2

Q3

245

560
-20
-46

648
1141
-494
-387
-571
77

260

475
-15
-43

541
957
-416
-365
-411
-5

35

188
225
-5

524
932
-408
-378
-463
56

Q4

0.0
0.2

1.6

-653

-878

0.6
0.4

0.7

-758

-1046

0.2
0.2

0.0

-770

-1115

0.2
0.3

0.0

-780

-1163

Seasonally adjusted annual rates
2416
2383
2393
2413
3269
3401
3476
3545
971
994
1017
1032
662
679
696
700
309
314
322
332
2297
2407
2459
2514
-852
-1018
-1083
-1132
148
153
157
158

225

467
142
-89

457
977
-520
-553
-529
9

Not seasonally adjusted

Q1

Staff Projections of Federal Sector Accounts and Related Items
(Billions of dollars except as noted)

0.3
0.3

0.2

-820

-1213

2412
3596
1051
706
345
2545
-1184
158

20

336
15
-5

516
862
-346
-314
-351
5

Q1

0.2
0.2

-0.3

-786

-1195

2440
3607
1063
709
354
2545
-1167
158

40

219
-20
-5

658
852
-194
-106
-275
80

Q2

50

288
-10
-5

560
833
-273
-234
-264
-9

Q3

0.1
0.1

0.2

-821

-1240

2445
3657
1067
715
352
2591
-1213
160

2010

0.0
0.1

-0.1

-812

-1235

2473
3681
1072
721
351
2608
-1208
161

35

338
15
-5

553
900
-348
-309
-401
53

Q4

March 12, 2009

1. Budget receipts, outlays, and surplus/deficit include corresponding social security (OASDI) categories. The OASDI surplus and the Postal Service surplus are excluded from the on-budget
surplus and shown separately as off-budget, as classified under current law.
2. Other means of financing are checks issued less checks paid, accrued items, and changes in other financial assets and liabilities.
3. Gross saving is the current account surplus plus consumption of fixed capital of the general government as well as government enterprises.
4. HEB is gross saving less gross investment (NIPA) of the federal government in current dollars, with cyclically sensitive receipts and outlays adjusted to the staff’s measure of potential output and the
NAIRU. Quarterly figures for change in HEB and FI are not at annual rates. The sign on Change in HEB, as a percent of nominal potential GDP, is reversed. FI is the weighted difference of discretionary
changes in federal spending and taxes in chained (2000) dollars, scaled by real GDP. The annual FI estimates are on a calendar year basis. Also, for FI and the change in HEB, positive values indicate
aggregate demand stimulus.
a--Actual

Fiscal indicators4
High-employment (HEB)
surplus/deficit
Change in HEB, percent
of potential GDP
Fiscal impetus (FI),
percent of GDP
Previous Greenbook

NIPA federal sector
Receipts
Expenditures
Consumption expenditures
Defense
Nondefense
Other spending
Current account surplus
Gross investment
Gross saving less gross
investment3

Cash operating balance,
end of period

Means of financing
Borrowing
Cash decrease
Other2

Unified budget
Receipts1
Outlays1
Surplus/deficit1
Previous Greenbook
On-budget
Off-budget

Item

Class II FOMC
Restricted (FR)

I-36

6.6
.4
-1.8
.5

8.6
5.8
5.1
4.4

5.2
3.1
8.1
6.3
4.4
7.7
5.5
2.3
3.6
4.9
4.2
4.6

2007
2008
2009
2010

Quarter
2008:1
2
3
4
2009:1
2
3
4
2010:1
2
3
4

2.4
-.3
-2.3
-1.6
-2.7
-2.3
-1.8
-1.1
-.3
.0
.2
.4

6.6
-.4
-2.0
.1

14.2
13.6
13.3
10.9

Home
mortgages

Households

4.7
3.9
1.5
-3.2
-3.0
-2.6
-1.4
-.2
1.5
2.5
2.0
1.5

5.5
1.7
-1.8
1.9

5.2
5.5
4.3
4.5

Consumer
credit

7.2
5.8
4.1
1.5
2.9
.7
1.4
1.6
1.8
1.9
1.9
2.3

13.1
4.7
1.7
2.0

2.5
6.2
8.7
10.5

Business

3.5
.9
3.1
1.2
1.2
3.6
3.4
3.4
3.2
3.2
2.8
2.8

9.3
2.2
2.9
3.0

8.3
7.4
10.2
8.2

State and local
governments

Change in Debt of the Domestic Nonfinancial Sectors
(Percent)

8.1
5.9
39.2
37.0
23.3
40.7
25.2
8.4
11.9
16.7
13.0
14.2

4.9
24.2
26.6
14.7

10.9
9.0
7.0
3.9

Federal
government

3.5
4.1
3.4
-6.3
-3.3
-1.1
.6
.8
1.6
2.2
2.6
2.8

2.6.3 FOF

4.9
1.1
-.8
2.3

5.9
6.5
6.3
5.3

Memo:
Nominal
GDP

March 12, 2009

Note. Quarterly data are at seasonally adjusted annual rates.
1. Data after 2008:Q4 are staff projections. Changes are measured from end of the preceding period to end of period indicated except for annual nominal
GDP growth, which is calculated from Q4 to Q4.

3.0
.3
.2
-2.0
-2.6
-2.2
-1.6
-.8
.2
.6
.7
.7

11.6
11.2
11.1
10.0

Total

8.1
8.9
9.5
8.9

Total

Year
2003
2004
2005
2006

Period 1

Class II FOMC
Restricted (FR)

I-37

507.6

1239.2
1239.2
833.2

48.0
167.0

172.3
-395.1
503.0

50.9
-46.2
44.3
129.6

228.6
12.9

1446.1
-395.1
1841.1

2008

88.5

1689.0
1689.0
1837.9

66.0
165.1

-35.2
-175.0
184.0

-244.9
-207.3
-45.7
125.7

244.6
12.1

1519.1
-175.0
1694.1

2009

319.6

1180.9
1180.9
1160.9

69.7
180.0

-20.8
-140.0
224.2

73.0
7.1
47.6
122.3

252.4
10.9

1407.8
-140.0
1547.8

2010

549.5

2078.5
526.5
168.9

68.7
153.1

127.9
-393.2
451.2

28.6
-241.3
38.4
129.8

226.7
18.2

2233.9
-393.2
2627.0

Q3

Q4

503.4

2155.2
560.9
485.2

26.7
144.8

74.3
-450.0
169.3

-278.7
-163.0
-83.0
130.1

234.5
14.6

1622.4
-450.0
2072.5

2008

-303.8

1479.2
466.9
520.0

26.7
181.3

-31.1
-180.0
317.3

-352.9
-284.3
-76.6
127.8

239.6
10.5

1290.4
-180.0
1470.4

Q1

-42.3

2742.2
559.5
493.6

81.7
137.1

-34.4
-200.0
78.8

-300.0
-241.7
-65.9
125.4

243.9
18.6

2402.8
-200.0
2602.8

2.6.4 FOF

Q2

Q3

322.1

1870.8
474.6
416.3

77.7
170.6

-34.7
-160.0
155.6

-216.9
-189.5
-35.3
125.0

247.6
13.4

1727.1
-160.0
1887.1

2009

Flow of Funds Projections: Highlights
(Billions of dollars at seasonally adjusted annual rates except as noted)

Note. Data after 2008:Q4 are staff projections.
1. Average debt levels in the period (computed as the average of period-end debt positions) divided by nominal GDP.
2. Includes change in liabilities not shown in home mortgages and consumer credit.
3. Average debt levels in the period (computed as the average of period-end debt positions) divided by disposable personal income.
4. For corporations, excess of capital expenditures over U.S. internal funds.
5. NIPA state and local government saving plus consumption of fixed capital and net capital transfers.
n.s.a. Not seasonally adjusted.

858.7

237.1
237.1
187.9

Federal government
Net borrowing
Net borrowing (n.s.a.)
Unified deficit (n.s.a.)

Depository institutions
Funds supplied

185.7
246.6

State and local governments
Net borrowing
Current surplus 5

848.8
651.5
133.6
131.2

Households
Net borrowing 2
Home mortgages
Consumer credit
Debt/DPI (percent) 3
185.6
-831.2
1228.4

220.3
18.1

Borrowing indicators
Debt (percent of GDP) 1
Borrowing (percent of GDP)

Business
Financing gap 4
Net equity issuance
Credit market borrowing

1668.8
-831.2
2500.0

2007

Domestic nonfinancial sectors
Net funds raised
Total
Net equity issuance
Net debt issuance

Category

Class II FOMC
Restricted (FR)

378.0

663.9
188.1
408.0

77.7
171.2

-40.7
-160.0
184.4

-109.9
-113.7
-5.0
123.8

249.5
5.8

656.1
-160.0
816.1

Q4

184.3

957.0
336.3
346.3

73.7
177.4

2.8
-140.0
200.3

26.3
-28.4
37.8
123.0

250.4
8.9

1117.3
-140.0
1257.3

Q1

391.5

1381.5
219.4
194.4

73.7
172.9

-25.4
-140.0
214.6

81.1
0.0
63.4
122.5

251.6
12.3

1610.9
-140.0
1750.9

Q2

Q3

417.5

1122.8
287.6
272.6

65.7
183.8

-38.0
-140.0
221.5

88.6
19.0
51.0
122.0

252.8
10.5

1358.7
-140.0
1498.7

2010

285.3

1262.1
337.6
347.6

65.7
185.9

-22.6
-140.0
260.6

95.8
37.9
38.4
121.6

253.9
11.7

1544.3
-140.0
1684.3

Q4

March 12, 2009

I-38

Class II FOMC—Restricted (FR)

International Developments
Data from the foreign economies indicate that economic activity has been far weaker than
we had projected in the January Greenbook. We now estimate that foreign real GDP
contracted 7¼ percent at an annual rate in the fourth quarter, which is more than 5
percentage points greater than any decline we have seen in the past 40 years. Moreover,
there are few indications that a recovery is imminent. We project that foreign output will
fall an additional 4¾ percent at an annual rate in the first half of this year before
stabilizing in the second half. The beginning of a recovery late this year is predicated on
financial markets improving, the U.S. economy beginning to stabilize, fiscal stimulus
abroad, and monetary policy—both conventional and unconventional— continuing to
ease in many countries. With many economic indicators currently in free fall, however,
this outlook is very uncertain.
Summary of Staff Projections
(Percent change from end of previous period except as noted, annual rate)
2008

Projection

Indicator
H1

Q3

2008:
Q4

2009
2010
Q1

Q2

H2

Foreign output
Previous Greenbook

1.7
1.8

.5
.7

-7.2
-3.7

-6.7
-2.7

-2.9
-.7

.3
1.5

2.3
2.8

Foreign consumer prices
Previous Greenbook

5.0
5.1

4.3
4.5

-.7
-1.1

-1.5
-.8

1.1
1.3

1.5
1.7

1.5
2.0

Contribution to growth (percentage points)
U.S. net exports
Previous Greenbook

1.8
1.8

1.1
1.1

-.6
-.1

.1
1.2

.0
-.1

-.7
-.8

-.4
-.5

Note: Change for year measured as Q4/Q4; half-years are Q2/Q4 or Q4/Q2.

Falling commodity prices and the global economic contraction have put considerable
downward pressure on consumer prices. We estimate that foreign consumer prices
dropped ¾ percent at an annual rate in the fourth quarter and project that prices will
continue to fall, at about a 1½ percent pace, in the first. With commodity prices
bottoming out, we project that consumer prices then will begin to rise and that inflation
will average about 1½ percent in 2010, down from the January Greenbook, reflecting
greater slack in the foreign economies. Our projection of oil prices is lower than in the

I-39

I-40

Class II FOMC—Restricted (FR)

Part 1: Summary and Outlook, March 11, 2009

January Greenbook, but we continue to project the price of oil to rise from its current
level, consistent with futures market quotes. Prices for most nonfuel primary
commodities are little changed on net.
The sharper-than-anticipated contraction in foreign economic activity in the fourth
quarter contributed to a greater plunge in U.S. exports than estimated in the January
Greenbook. As imports were only a little weaker than we had expected, net exports are
now estimated to have subtracted ½ percentage point from U.S. real GDP growth in the
fourth quarter, rather than being neutral. Our projection of the contribution of net exports
is about neutral in the first half of this year and has also been revised lower, reflecting
weaker-than-expected trade data for December, our markdown of foreign growth, and a
higher dollar. The starting point of our projected path for the broad real dollar is about
3 percent higher than in the January Greenbook; however, as before, we project a slight
decline in the value of the dollar over the forecast period. In the second half of this year
and in 2010, net exports are projected to subtract about ¾ percentage point and ½
percentage point, respectively, from real U.S. GDP growth, as imports recover more
quickly than exports.
International Financial Markets
Foreign equity markets declined sharply as global economic growth slowed far more
rapidly than had been expected. Financial stocks fell particularly far, despite
announcements of new government support for financial firms over the period. In
particular, the British government launched its Asset Protection Scheme, insuring
£325 billion of assets placed in the Scheme by Royal Bank of Scotland and £260 billion
of assets from Lloyds. In addition, the Bank of Japan voted to resume purchases of
equities held on banks’ balance sheets. Nonetheless, weak earnings reports and mounting
concerns about losses on loans to emerging European countries weighed on bank share
prices, with declines in Europe of 12 percent to 17 percent and in Japan of 9 percent since
the January Greenbook.
Despite these rising concerns over the health of many financial institutions, conditions in
money markets remained relatively unchanged, as the myriad official actions taken over
the last year have helped stabilize banks’ funding sources. The European Central Bank
and the Bank of Canada both cut policy rates 50 basis points in March, to 1½ percent and
½ percent, respectively. The Bank of England cut its target by a cumulative 1 percentage
point, to 0.50 percent, and announced that it would purchase up to £150 billion in
government and corporate bonds, which has prompted 10-year sovereign yields in the

International Developments

Class II FOMC—Restricted (FR) I-41

United Kingdom to fall 60 basis points. The Swiss National Bank cut its target for threemonth Swiss franc Libor by 25 basis points and announced that it would purchase
domestic corporate bonds and foreign currency to inject liquidity. The Bank of Japan
announced plans to purchase up to ¥1 trillion in corporate bonds; market reaction was
muted, possibly reflecting the relatively small size of the announced purchases.
The dollar appreciated significantly and to a similar extent against both the major foreign
currencies and those of our other important trading partners, driven by weak foreign data.
Overall, the broad real index of the dollar is 3 percent higher than at the time of the
January forecast. Although the staff expects further rate cuts abroad as foreign economic
activity continues to decline, which in principle would boost the dollar, we believe that
markets have already incorporated the prospect of those rate cuts into the current levels of
exchange rates. Accordingly we project a modest pace of depreciation for the broad real
dollar, little changed from the January Greenbook, because we assume that, as financial
and economic conditions stabilize, flight-to-safety flows will abate and investor attention
will refocus on the need to finance the U.S. current account deficit.
Advanced Foreign Economies
Real GDP in the advanced foreign economies contracted a record 5¼ percent at an annual
rate in the fourth quarter, a much sharper decline than we wrote down in January.
Consumption and especially investment declined sharply, and trade collapsed. Japanese
GDP was particularly weak, falling 12 percent. Very grim incoming data and worsening
prospects for U.S. growth suggest further deterioration in economic activity in the near
term. Real GDP in the advanced foreign economies is projected to continue to contract in
the first half of this year, falling 7 percent in the current quarter, before bottoming out in
the second half. Growth recovers only gradually, reaching 1¾ percent by the end of the
forecast period, as a result of easing financial strains, recovery in the United States, and
monetary and fiscal stimulus. Compared with the January Greenbook, weaker incoming
financial and economic data and the sizable downward revisions to U.S. growth have led
us to project a deeper and longer recession in the advanced foreign economies.
Reflecting the fall in commodity prices, we project that four-quarter consumer price
inflation in the advanced foreign economies will continue to move down in the near term,
reaching its nadir at negative ¾ percent in the third quarter. With commodity prices no
longer falling, inflation subsequently rises to 1 percent in 2010. Japan is projected to
experience deflation throughout the forecast period. For the advanced foreign economies

I-42

Class II FOMC—Restricted (FR)

Part 1: Summary and Outlook, March 11, 2009

as a whole, we revised down the outlook for inflation relative to the January Greenbook
forecast, mainly reflecting wider output gaps.
Consistent with the worsening economic conditions, we now assume that the major
central banks will sustain accommodative policies throughout the forecast period, with
policy rates to remain at current low levels in Japan and the United Kingdom and to be
cut further in the euro area and Canada. We also anticipate that the major central banks
will undertake greater unconventional monetary policy measures over the forecast period.
We now expect that fiscal stimulus will provide about 1 percentage point to GDP growth
in the advanced foreign economies in 2009, but provide little impetus in 2010.
Emerging Market Economies
Fourth-quarter real GDP fell an estimated 9¾ percent at an annual rate in the emerging
market economies, as the recession in advanced economies, continued financial market
stresses, and very weak capital inflows weighed on growth. The fall in GDP was
particularly pronounced in emerging Asia, which the staff estimates contracted at an
11 percent pace, comparable to the steepest quarterly contraction during the Asian crisis
in 1998. Real GDP in the fourth quarter fell more than 20 percent in Korea, Taiwan, and
Thailand; Singapore and Malaysia also posted double-digit declines. In Latin America,
real GDP decelerated very sharply as well, led by a 10¼ percent fall in Mexico and a
13½ percent decline in Brazil. Mexico’s GDP was dragged down by shrinking U.S.
demand, particularly for automotive products, and a continued decline in remittances.
Incoming data and anecdotal reports continue to paint a very gloomy picture for
economic activity. Accordingly, we expect real GDP in the emerging market economies
to contract at an annual rate of 6¼ percent in the current quarter, and we do not envision
much of a recovery until the fourth quarter of this year. Relative to the January
Greenbook, our projections of real GDP growth in the fourth and first quarters are down
about 4½ percentage points. In part because of its large fiscal stimulus package, China’s
economy may be starting to pick up steam after growing less than 2 percent in the fourth
quarter. However, Chinese growth will no doubt continue to face headwinds owing to
shrinking global demand.
As economic activity in the advanced economies stabilizes toward the end of this year,
output growth in the emerging market economies is expected to pick up, eventually
reaching about 4¼ percent by the end of 2010. This is a little lower than the January
Greenbook projection, and well below the average rate of growth experienced by these

International Developments

Class II FOMC—Restricted (FR) I-43

economies in recent years. Our projected recovery is conditional upon a pickup in the
advanced economies, a resumption of capital flows to emerging market economies, and
some support from expansionary fiscal and monetary policies. None of these
developments is assured, and a possible worsening of financial conditions poses a
significant downside risk to the outlook.
Consumer prices in emerging market economies have been relatively flat on average in
recent months, driving down our estimate of four-quarter inflation to less than 3 percent
this quarter. This fall in inflation was largely concentrated in emerging Asia and
generally reflected weak economic activity and lower prices for food and other
commodities. In Latin America, inflation pressures have also now begun to moderate.
Inflation in the emerging market economies is projected to fall to about 1 percent in the
second half of this year before gradually climbing to around 2 percent by the end of the
forecast period, about ½ percentage point lower than in the previous Greenbook.
Commodity Prices
The spot price of West Texas intermediate (WTI) crude oil closed on March 11 at
$42.33 per barrel, about unchanged from the time of the January Greenbook. Consistent
with the path of futures prices, we project that the spot price of WTI will rise to $55 per
barrel by the end of next year. This forecast is down on average, relative to the January
Greenbook, about $3.50 per barrel in the remainder of 2009 and about $4.50 in 2010.
Recent movements in oil prices have been influenced by several factors, including a
weakening in the outlook for oil demand, on the one hand, and reductions in OPEC
production, on the other. Although compliance among OPEC members appears high
relative to historic standards, recent data indicate that OPEC output is still nearly
1 million barrels per day above its target. OPEC meets again on March 15 to reassess the
state of the oil market, and still deeper cuts in production are possible.
Nonfuel commodity prices declined at an annual rate of 70 percent in the fourth quarter
of 2008, but they have flattened out in recent months. Going forward, we expect small
increases in commodity prices beginning in the second half of 2009, consistent with
readings from future markets. Overall, our projection of nonfuel commodity prices is
little changed from the January Greenbook.
Prices of Internationally Traded Goods
Based in part on data for January, we project core import prices to decline at an annual
rate of 10 percent in the current quarter, a bit faster than the 8 percent fall recorded in the

I-44

Class II FOMC—Restricted (FR)

Part 1: Summary and Outlook, March 11, 2009

fourth quarter of 2008. The decline in core import prices reflects both the recent
appreciation of the dollar as well as the lagged effect of previous declines in commodity
prices. Core import prices are projected to continue falling at a modest pace through the
end of this year, but thereafter they start to rise slowly, as commodity prices edge up and
the dollar depreciates. Compared with the January Greenbook, our projection for import
prices is lower in the near term, reflecting the recent upward move of the dollar.
Staff Projections of Selected Trade Prices
(Percent change from end of previous period, annual rate, excepted as noted)
2008

Projection

Trade category
H1
Imports
Core goods
Previous Greenbook

9.5
9.5

Oil (dollars per barrel)
108.65
Previous Greenbook 108.65
Exports
Core goods
Previous Greenbook

13.0
13.0

Q3

2008:
Q4

4.6
4.6

-8.3
-9.0

117.49
117.49

68.74
68.52

6.6
6.6

-25.6
-19.0

2009
Q1
-10.0
-9.4
41.46
45.55
-10.9
-12.9

Q2

2010
H2

-4.7
-3.0

-.8
-.1

1.1
1.3

43.09
44.56

44.79
48.60

50.51
54.82

-5.2
-2.9

-.3
.5

1.2
1.1

Note: Prices for core exports exclude computers and semiconductors. Prices for core imports exclude
computers, semiconductors, oil, and natural gas. Both prices are on a national income and product account
chain-weighted basis.
The price of imported oil for multi-quarter periods is the price for the final quarter of the period.
Imported oil includes both crude oil and refined products.

In the fourth quarter, core export prices showed their largest one-quarter decline in more
than 40 years, falling at an annual rate of 26 percent. Small price increases for finished
goods were vastly outweighed by large declines in prices for agricultural products and
industrial supplies, which reflected the collapse of nonfuel commodity prices. We expect
the lagged effect of previous declines in commodity prices to pull down core export
prices through the first three quarters of 2009, but core export prices should flatten out
late in the year and resume modest growth in 2010.
Trade in Goods and Services
Real exports of goods and services declined at an annual rate of 23½ percent in the fourth
quarter, about 3¾ percentage points steeper than projected in the January Greenbook.
The downward revision was primarily the result of substantially weaker-than-expected

Class II FOMC—Restricted (FR) I-45

International Developments

data for December, reflecting sharp declines in most categories of exports, which more
than offset a rebound in exports of aircraft following the end of production disruptions at
Boeing. In the current quarter, we expect exports to again plunge 24 percent. This is
more than 18 percentage points larger than we had projected in the January Greenbook,
reflecting weaker foreign activity and a higher dollar, as well as our response to the
December data. This steep fall-off in exports in part reflects the high responsiveness of
trade, particularly in durable goods, to the business cycle. We expect real exports to
continue declining through the rest of 2009, although at a slower pace, before edging up
in 2010, in line with the recovery in foreign GDP growth. Relative to the January
Greenbook, our projection for export growth in the last three quarters of 2009 and for
2010 is, on average, about 1¾ percentage points lower, reflecting both the sizable
markdown in foreign growth and the stronger dollar.
Staff Projections for
Trade in Goods and Services
(Percent change from end of previous period, annual rate)
2008

Projection

Measure
H1

Q3

2008:
Q4

2009

2010

Q1

Q2

H2

Real imports
Previous Greenbook

-4.1
-4.1

-3.5
-3.5

-16.0
-15.4

-19.7
-11.7

-4.7
-1.9

3.2
5.8

3.8
5.4

Real exports
Previous Greenbook

8.6
8.6

3.0
3.0

-23.6
-19.9

-23.6
-5.1

-5.6
-2.7

-2.3
-.1

1.0
2.4

Note: Changes for years are measured as Q4/Q4; half-years are measured as Q2/Q4 or Q4/Q2.

Real imports of goods and services decreased at an annual rate of 16 percent in the fourth
quarter, in line with our projection in the January Greenbook. For the current quarter, we
expect imports to decline 20 percent, as U.S. demand continues to weaken and imports of
automotive products reflect cutbacks in motor vehicle production schedules in Canada
and Mexico. As with exports, the recent sharp decline in imports in part reflects the
strong cyclicality of trade flows. The decline in imports is projected to moderate to a
5 percent pace in the second quarter. Import growth should turn positive towards the end
of the year and average roughly 3¾ percent in 2010. The pickup in imports reflects the
lagged effect of recent dollar appreciation as well as the projected stabilization and
eventual recovery of the U.S. economy. Compared with the January Greenbook, we have
lowered our import growth forecast for the first quarter 8 percentage points, a little less

I-46

Class II FOMC—Restricted (FR)

Part 1: Summary and Outlook, March 11, 2009

than 3 percentage points in the remainder of 2009, and about 1½ percentage points in
2010.
Alternative Simulation
Although our baseline forecast projects a sizable contraction in foreign activity in the first
half of this year followed by some recovery, it is possible that the foreign economies may
experience an even deeper and more protracted recession. To investigate this possibility,
we use the SIGMA model, which now incorporates a zero-bound constraint for U.S.
monetary policy, to examine the effects of a larger-than-expected deceleration in
domestic demand of major U.S. trading partners. 1
The foreign demand shock, which begins next quarter, is calibrated to reduce foreign
GDP growth about 1 percentage point in 2009 and 2010. After declining a bit further in
2011, foreign output begins to recover gradually in 2012. The negative impact of the
shock on foreign activity is cushioned by a decline in foreign policy rates, which fall
about ½ percentage point below baseline by the fourth quarter of 2010. 2
The foreign demand shock generates a sizable U.S. output decline, largely attributable to
weaker real net exports, which in turn reflects the combination of lower foreign activity
and an induced appreciation of the dollar. This effect is greatly amplified because the
federal funds rate is constrained from declining below zero, as discussed below.
Expected inflation falls in response to the negative shock and, accordingly, real interest
rates rise substantially relative to baseline, causing U.S. domestic demand to fall.
Declines in stock prices and associated reductions in collateral values work through the
financial accelerator channel to boost corporate bond spreads ¾ percentage point,
deepening the decline in private demand. U.S. GDP growth declines about ¾ percentage
point relative to baseline in the second half of 2009 and 1¼ percentage points relative to
baseline in 2010. The weaker U.S. growth causes core PCE price inflation to fall roughly
¼ percentage point below baseline in 2009 and more in 2010.
These adverse effects of the foreign demand shock on the United States described above
are considerably larger than we have described in previous Greenbooks, when the
baseline path for the federal funds rate was well above zero. In those situations, the U.S.
1

The simulation is run in a new two-country version of SIGMA that embeds a financial accelerator
channel similar to that developed by Bernanke, Gertler, and Gilchrist.
2
Our simulation does not impose the zero bound constraint on the aggregate foreign economy, as only
two major economies—Canada and Japan—would be subject to that constraint, and imposing it would
make little difference to the results.

Class II FOMC—Restricted (FR) I-47

International Developments

policy rate could be lowered in response to weaker foreign demand, inducing a decline in
real interest rates that would stimulate domestic demand and reduce the appreciation of
the dollar. With the negative effect on U.S. GDP arising from the net export channel
smaller and largely offset by stronger U.S. domestic demand, U.S. GDP would fall only
about a quarter as much in the first couple of years as reported in our current simulation.
Thus, the zero bound constraint induces a much larger fall in U.S. GDP because the
contraction in net exports is reinforced, rather than offset, by the change in domestic
demand.
Alternative Scenario:
Lower Foreign Demand
(Percent change from previous period, annual rate, except as noted)
2009

Indicator and simulation

2010

2011

201213

H1

H2

H1

H2

-4.2
-4.3

-.3
-1.0

1.1
-.1

2.0
.7

3.9
3.1

5.3
5.4

1.2
1.1

.8
.5

.5
.1

.4
-.1

.5
.1

.7
.6

U.S federal funds rate
(percent)
Baseline
Lower Foreign Demand

.1
.1

.1
.1

.1
.1

.1
.1

.1
.1

.1
.1

U.S. trade balance
(percent share of GDP)
Baseline
Lower Foreign Demand

-3.0
-3.1

-3.2
-3.4

-3.5
-3.8

-3.7
-4.1

-3.8
-4.1

-4.1
-4.1

U.S. real GDP
Baseline
Lower Foreign Demand
U.S. PCE prices
excluding food and energy
Baseline
Lower Foreign Demand

NOTE: H1 is Q2/Q4; H2 is Q4/Q2. The federal funds rate is the average rate for the final
quarter of the period.

I-48

Class II FOMC -- Restricted (FR)

Evolution of the Staff Forecast

Current Account Balance
Percent of GDP

-2.0
-2.5
-3.0

2010

-3.5
2009

-4.0
-4.5
-5.0
2008

-5.5
-6.0
-6.5

1/24

3/14

5/2

6/20

8/2

9/12 10/24 12/5

1/23

2007

3/13 4/23

6/18 7/30 9/10 10/22 12/10 1/22

3/12 4/22

2008
Greenbook publication date

6/17

8/5

9/16 10/29 12/9

-7.0

2009

Foreign Real GDP
Percent change, Q4/Q4

4

2009
2010

3

2008

2
1
0
-1
-2

1/24

3/14

5/2

6/20

8/2

9/12 10/24 12/5

1/23

2007

3/13 4/23

6/18 7/30 9/10 10/22 12/10 1/22

3/12 4/22

2008
Greenbook publication date

6/17

8/5

9/16 10/29 12/9

-3

2009

Core Import Prices*
Percent change, Q4/Q4

2008

2010

2009

1/24

3/14

5/2

6/20

2007

8/2

9/12 10/24 12/5

1/23

3/13 4/23

6/18 7/30 9/10 10/22 12/10 1/22

2008
Greenbook publication date
*Prices for merchandise imports excluding computers, semiconductors, oil, and natural gas.

3/12 4/22

6/17

2009

8/5

9/16 10/29 12/9

8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
-1
-2
-3
-4
-5
-6

March 12, 2009

4.2
6.8
3.3
10.3
1.5
1.2
6.7

Emerging Market Economies
Asia
Korea
China
Latin America
Mexico
Brazil

-5.3

-7.2

-9.7
-11.0
-20.8
1.6
-9.2
-10.3
-13.6

-6.3
-4.3
-7.0
2.2
-8.9
-10.8
-4.0

-6.1
-15.9
-4.8
-6.0
-6.5

-7.0

-6.7

-1.6
-0.4
-4.7
4.8
-3.2
-3.7
-2.0

-4.1
-4.4
-2.9
-4.1
-4.3

-3.8

-2.9

0.5
2.1
1.2
5.8
-1.3
-1.7
0.0

-0.5
-1.8
-1.2
-1.0
-1.1

-0.8

-0.2

1.7
3.0
2.1
6.8
0.1
-0.1
1.0

0.1
-0.1
1.1
0.0
-0.2

0.2

0.8

2.5
4.1
3.1
7.6
0.7
0.4
2.0

0.5
0.6
0.7
1.0
0.9

0.7

1.5

3.4
4.8
3.6
8.2
1.8
1.8
2.0

1.5
0.9
1.2
1.3
1.2

1.4

2.2

3.9
5.2
3.7
8.4
2.5
2.7
2.0

1.8
1.1
2.0
1.6
1.3

1.7

2.7

4.3
5.6
3.8
8.9
2.9
3.2
2.0

2.0
1.1
2.3
1.6
1.5

1.8

2.9

2.7
2.3
1.4
3.4
3.6
3.0

1.9
1.0
2.4
3.4
3.1

4.7

2.3

4.1
3.4
2.2
4.8
3.8
3.3

3.4

4.8
1.9
1.0
3.9
2.3
1.7

2.0

3.3

0.5
-0.2
2.8
1.1
0.5

0.7

1.7

-0.2
-1.1
1.6
0.7
0.4

0.0

0.7

-1.0
-2.0
0.2
0.3
-0.1

-0.7

0.1

0.1
-1.5
0.5
0.8
0.5

0.1

0.6

1.3
-0.7
1.5
1.4
1.1

1.0

1.4

1.3
-0.4
1.6
1.1
1.1

0.9

1.5

1.2
-0.4
1.7
1.2
1.1

0.9

1.6

1.2
-0.5
1.6
1.2
1.1

0.9

1.5

--------------------------- Four-quarter changes --------------------------

1.6
0.9
2.1
5.3
2.3
1.6
6.9

0.9 -3.4
-1.4 -12.1
-2.8 -6.0
-1.0 -5.7
-2.1 -8.2

-0.3

0.5

1.
2.
3.
4.

Foreign GDP aggregates calculated using shares of U.S. exports.
Harmonized data for euro area from Eurostat.
Foreign CPI aggregates calculated using shares of U.S. non-oil imports.
CPI excluding mortgage interest payments, which is the targeted inflation rate.

Emerging Market Economies
6.0
6.6
6.1
4.6
2.7
1.4
0.8
1.2
1.9
2.1
2.2
2.1
Asia
6.6
7.0
6.0
3.7
1.0 -0.4 -0.9
0.1
1.2
1.6
1.7
1.7
Korea
3.8
4.8
5.5
4.5
3.9
2.3
1.4
1.4
1.5
1.6
1.6
1.6
China
8.1
7.7
5.1
2.7
-0.7 -1.7 -1.5 -0.7
0.7
1.2
1.2
1.2
Latin America
4.5
5.5
6.1
6.6
6.3
5.3
4.4
3.5
3.3
3.2
3.2
3.1
Mexico
3.9
4.9
5.5
6.2
6.1
5.1
4.1
3.2
2.8
2.7
2.7
2.7
Brazil
4.6
5.5
6.3
6.2
5.8
4.9
4.1
3.9
3.7
3.7
3.7
3.7
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Advanced Foreign Economies
of which:
Canada
Japan
United Kingdom (4)
Euro Area (2)
Germany

CONSUMER PRICES (3)
------------------Total Foreign

0.6
-4.5
-0.1
-1.0
-2.0

-0.9
1.4
1.6
2.8
6.2
3.4
3.8
3.4
10.9
2.9
1.3
6.5

-0.5

1.2

0.8

2.3

-------------------- Quarterly changes at an annual rate ------------------

Advanced Foreign Economies
of which:
Canada
Japan
United Kingdom
Euro Area (2)
Germany

REAL GDP (1)
-----------Total Foreign

-------------------- Projected -----------------------2008
2009
2010
------------------------------------------------------------------Measure and country
Q1
Q2
Q3
Q4
Q1
Q2
Q3
Q4
Q1
Q2
Q3
Q4
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

OUTLOOK FOR FOREIGN REAL GDP AND CONSUMER PRICES: SELECTED COUNTRIES
(Percent changes)
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Class II FOMC
Restricted (FR)

I-49

March 12, 2009

1.3
1.7
-0.3
1.3
2.0
1.1

2.1
3.8
-0.5
1.5
2.3
1.2

2.1
2.3
0.5
1.4
2.3
2.1

1.8

2.8

5.5
6.0
2.9
9.9
5.0
4.5
4.7

3.7
1.1
2.3
1.8
0.2

2.6

3.8

2.3
-1.0
2.1
2.3
2.2

1.6

2.3

5.9
7.7
5.6
10.3
4.1
3.6
3.7

3.0
2.9
2.0
2.1
1.6

2.7

4.0

1.4
0.3
2.7
1.8
1.3

1.4

2.1

5.9
7.1
4.2
10.8
4.7
4.0
4.6

2.2
2.2
3.2
3.4
4.1

2.7

4.1

2.5
0.5
2.1
2.9
3.1

2.2

3.6

6.3
8.1
5.9
12.3
4.5
3.7
6.1

2.8
2.1
3.0
2.1
1.7

2.6

4.2

1.9
1.0
3.9
2.3
1.7

2.0

3.3

-0.3
-0.1
-3.6
6.9
-0.8
-1.7
1.2

-0.7
-4.3
-1.9
-1.3
-1.6

-1.4

-0.9

0.1
-1.5
0.5
0.8
0.5

0.1

0.6

-1.5
0.1
-2.2
4.9
-3.4
-4.2
-1.3

-2.7
-5.8
-2.0
-2.8
-3.1

-2.9

-2.3

1.2
-0.5
1.6
1.2
1.1

0.9

1.5

3.5
4.9
3.5
8.3
2.0
2.0
2.0

1.4
0.9
1.6
1.4
1.2

1.4

2.3

1.
2.
3.
4.

Foreign GDP aggregates calculated using shares of U.S. exports.
Harmonized data for euro area from Eurostat.
Foreign CPI aggregates calculated using shares of U.S. non-oil imports.
CPI excluding mortgage interest payments, which is the targeted inflation rate.

Emerging Market Economies
2.9
3.1
3.9
3.0
2.9
5.1
4.6
1.2
2.1
Asia
0.8
2.3
3.2
2.6
2.4
5.4
3.7
0.1
1.7
Korea
3.3
3.5
3.4
2.5
2.1
3.4
4.5
1.4
1.6
China
-0.6
2.7
3.3
1.4
2.1
6.7
2.7
-0.7
1.2
Latin America
6.4
4.9
5.6
3.7
4.1
4.3
6.6
3.5
3.1
Mexico
5.2
3.9
5.3
3.1
4.1
3.8
6.2
3.2
2.7
Brazil
10.7
11.5
7.2
6.1
3.2
4.3
6.2
3.9
3.7
___________________________________________________________________________________________________

Advanced Foreign Economies
of which:
Canada
Japan
United Kingdom (4)
Euro Area (2)
Germany

2.5

3.9
6.4
7.7
8.6
1.6
2.0
4.9

Emerging Market Economies
Asia
Korea
China
Latin America
Mexico
Brazil

CONSUMER PRICES (3)
------------------Total Foreign

1.5
2.4
3.2
1.2
0.2

3.5
2.1
2.4
1.1
0.0
4.6
7.0
4.1
10.3
2.0
1.5
1.0

1.8

2.9

2.5

3.1

Advanced Foreign Economies
of which:
Canada
Japan
United Kingdom
Euro Area (2)
Germany

REAL GDP (1)
-----------Total Foreign

Measure and country
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
___________________________________________________________________________________________________

-----Projected----

OUTLOOK FOR FOREIGN REAL GDP AND CONSUMER PRICES: SELECTED COUNTRIES
(Percent, Q4 to Q4)
___________________________________________________________________________________________________

Class II FOMC
Restricted (FR)

I-50

March 12, 2009

3.8
10.2
-1.1
10.1
0.6
9.7
8.8
3.8
19.5
13.2
11.0
10.0

Exports of G&S
Services
Computers
Semiconductors
Core Goods 1/

Imports of G&S
Services
Oil
Natural Gas
Computers
Semiconductors
Core Goods 2/

-0.9
0.7
-1.7

-0.1
0.7
-0.8

11.5
9.3
10.8
4.9
23.2
9.8
11.4

7.4
8.3
5.8
-6.0
8.0
4.8
-0.1
1.0
13.7
12.5
7.5
5.9

7.0
4.0
14.2
17.6
7.4
3.8
8.0
-9.2
-12.6
13.8
-0.3
5.7

10.1
11.5
8.1
2.9
10.0

0.4
1.1
-0.6

Billions of Chained 2000 Dollars

4.8
2.2
1.2
1.3
17.0
-0.1
5.2

5.8
3.0
11.3
38.3
4.9

Percentage change, Q4/Q4

-0.1
0.6
-0.7

1.1
1.8
0.6
12.1
8.4
3.8
0.1

8.9
9.3
0.9
29.3
8.2

0.8
1.0
-0.2

-7.1
0.7
-1.1
-27.3
-11.5
-10.1
-9.7

-1.8
3.7
-2.2
-14.0
-4.0

1.0
-0.2
1.2

-5.0
-0.6
-12.6
12.8
-9.3
-12.4
-5.1

-8.9
-8.0
-3.3
-15.8
-9.3

-0.3
-1.1
0.8

3.8
1.8
1.1
6.0
15.5
5.0
4.2

1.0
1.6
9.5
11.1
-0.0

-0.4
0.1
-0.5

33.0
102.4
-69.4

-423.7

-461.3
-4.4
51.0
112.7
-61.7

-496.9

-523.4
-4.8

73.4
150.9
-77.5

-607.7

-625.0
-5.3

78.8
173.2
-94.4

-711.6

-729.0
-5.9

63.8
184.1
-120.3

-753.3

-788.1
-6.0

88.8
233.9
-145.1

-700.3

-731.2
-5.3

117.2
249.5
-132.3

-677.1

-684.2
-4.8

44.4
157.5
-113.1

-430.0

-511.1
-3.6

64.0
182.5
-118.5

-515.3

-574.9
-4.0

1. Merchandise exports excluding computers and semiconductors.
2. Merchandise imports excluding oil, natural gas, computers, and semiconductors.

Other Income & Transfers,Net
-70.5
-77.5
-90.6
-96.2
-98.6
-119.7
-124.3
-125.5
-123.6
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Investment Income, Net
Direct, Net
Portfolio, Net

Net Goods & Services (BOP)

US CURRENT ACCOUNT BALANCE
Current Acct as Percent of GDP

Billions of dollars

Net Goods & Services
-471.3
-518.9
-593.8
-616.6
-615.7
-546.5
-392.3
-383.3
-445.0
Exports of G&S
1013.3
1026.1
1126.1
1205.3
1314.8
1425.9
1514.0
1339.0
1330.3
Imports of G&S
1484.6
1545.0
1719.9
1821.9
1930.5
1972.4
1906.3
1722.3
1775.3
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

-0.9
0.4
-1.3

Percentage point contribution to GDP growth, Q4/Q4

Net Goods & Services
Exports of G&S
Imports of G&S

NIPA REAL EXPORTS and IMPORTS

------ Projected -----2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

OUTLOOK FOR U.S. INTERNATIONAL TRANSACTIONS
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Class II FOMC
Restricted (FR)

I-51

March 12, 2009

0.3
0.8
-0.5

3.2
-5.7
5.1
58.6
3.2
-9.2
4.8

Exports of G&S
Services
Computers
Semiconductors
Core Goods 1/

Imports of G&S
Services
Oil
Natural Gas
Computers
Semiconductors
Core Goods 2/

-0.1
0.0
-0.1

-1.3
1.1
-2.4

0.1
1.7
-1.6

0.6
0.6
0.0

-0.1
0.4
-0.5

0.8
-1.0
-11.6
111.1
20.4
14.0
0.3

0.4
3.2
8.3
30.7
-2.9
15.3
6.8
53.6
-41.9
15.4
20.0
12.7

10.9
5.7
5.2
38.0
12.4
10.3
17.7
-2.8
-50.7
20.7
0.2
13.7

16.7
13.4
12.0
20.3
18.3
0.1
-2.0
-27.1
91.9
21.1
-0.5
4.9

5.5
2.7
17.5
16.1
5.6
3.1
-0.3
7.5
26.6
19.7
17.7
1.2

3.5
3.2
-7.9
-5.6
4.8

Billions of Chained 2000 Dollars, s.a.a.r.

0.6
-0.0
-27.1
-14.1
11.6
7.7
6.1

8.8
-2.8
27.9
11.7
13.8

1.3
1.7
-0.3

2.0
18.4
-10.6
-51.2
-4.3
-15.8
3.2

15.6
28.6
12.7
-15.0
11.8

Percentage change from previous period, s.a.a.r.

0.8
0.9
-0.1

Percentage point contribution to GDP growth

7.7
4.2
30.9
70.8
34.9
1.2
2.2

0.6
-2.7
3.9
15.9
1.3

-1.2
0.1
-1.2

-3.7
-2.0
-22.3
74.2
-6.5
6.7
-1.1

8.8
13.3
-4.0
23.7
6.6

1.7
1.0
0.7

3.0
6.3
-13.5
28.2
-0.2
1.0
5.8

23.0
25.9
14.4
20.5
22.1

2.0
2.5
-0.5

-2.3
-0.9
16.5
-58.6
9.7
6.4
-6.0

4.4
2.7
-9.2
61.7
3.7

0.9
0.5
0.4

77.8
168.5
-90.7

88.7
187.8
-99.0

-721.4

-675.6
-5.4
59.9
166.3
-106.5

-778.0

-832.9
-6.6

65.2
177.2
-112.0

-756.4

-783.8
-6.0

70.7
189.2
-118.5

-767.4

-799.6
-6.1

51.7
171.9
-120.3

-789.9

-843.6
-6.4

67.7
198.2
-130.5

-699.5

-725.4
-5.4

57.8
201.1
-143.2

-718.2

-787.7
-5.8

45.8
196.2
-150.4

-715.3

-776.4
-5.7

98.9
238.8
-139.9

-672.5

-691.8
-5.0

152.6
299.3
-146.7

-695.1

-669.0
-4.8

1. Merchandise exports excluding computers and semiconductors.
2. Merchandise imports excluding oil, natural gas, computers, and semiconductors.

Other Inc. & Transfers, Net-120.9 -106.2
-42.9 -114.8
-92.6 -103.0 -105.4
-93.6 -127.4 -106.9 -118.3 -126.4
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

88.6
170.2
-81.6

-682.9

Net Goods & Services (BOP) -664.0

Investment Income, Net
Direct, Net
Portfolio, Net

-711.3
-5.8

-696.2
-5.7

US CURRENT ACCOUNT BALANCE
Current Account as % of GDP

Billions of dollars, s.a.a.r.

Net Goods & Services
-623.7 -601.3 -603.6 -637.8 -636.0 -619.4 -623.0 -584.2 -618.6 -571.2 -511.8 -484.5
Exports of G&S
1177.9 1203.1 1204.3 1235.7 1284.3 1301.4 1312.6 1361.1 1363.2 1392.2 1466.2 1482.1
Imports of G&S
1801.7 1804.4 1807.9 1873.6 1920.2 1920.9 1935.7 1945.3 1981.8 1963.4 1978.0 1966.5
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

8.1
10.2
16.8
-5.2
7.3

Net Goods & Services
Exports of G&S
Imports of G&S

NIPA REAL EXPORTS and IMPORTS

2005
2006
2007
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------Q1
Q2
Q3
Q4
Q1
Q2
Q3
Q4
Q1
Q2
Q3
Q4
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

OUTLOOK FOR U.S. INTERNATIONAL TRANSACTIONS
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Class II FOMC
Restricted (FR)

I-52

March 12, 2009

0.8
0.6
0.1

-0.8
5.5
17.6
-40.5
6.3
-3.3
-6.4

Exports of G&S
Services
Computers
Semiconductors
Core Goods 1/

Imports of G&S
Services
Oil
Natural Gas
Computers
Semiconductors
Core Goods 2/

1.1
0.4
0.7

-0.6
-3.5
3.0

0.1
-3.2
3.3

0.0
-0.6
0.7

-0.5
-0.4
-0.1

-3.5
3.3
-6.6
-38.0
-13.1
-4.5
-2.5

3.0
1.4
5.4
21.3
2.9
-16.0
2.7
40.7
-27.2
-47.3
-38.2
-29.0

-23.6
3.5
-45.1
-53.7
-32.2
-19.7
-5.9
-15.2
0.7
-34.4
-40.2
-23.3

-23.6
-14.5
-13.2
-50.4
-27.3
-4.7
1.6
-41.4
37.3
-3.9
-4.0
-0.3

-5.6
-9.2
-3.9
-4.0
-3.6
1.0
1.8
-14.3
65.6
-0.0
-0.0
2.4

-3.2
-5.1
0.0
-0.0
-2.4

Billions of Chained 2000 Dollars, s.a.a.r.

-7.3
-8.0
-38.1
3.7
26.0
14.4
2.4

12.3
3.8
57.4
-6.8
16.1

-1.3
-2.6
4.7
5.4
-1.0

-0.9
-0.1
-0.7

5.5
0.3
37.3
-29.2
7.5
2.5
3.7

Percentage change from previous period, s.a.a.r.

2.9
1.5
1.4

Percentage point contribution to GDP growth

6.0
4.8
17.7
31.5
15.5
5.0
3.9

-0.3
-0.8
9.5
11.1
-0.7

-0.9
0.0
-0.8

0.2
-2.5
-24.7
20.5
15.5
5.0
4.3

0.6
1.0
9.5
11.1
-0.2

0.0
0.1
0.0

2.5
2.2
-14.7
17.5
15.5
5.0
4.3

1.5
2.6
9.5
11.1
0.2

-0.2
0.2
-0.4

6.6
2.6
38.3
-32.3
15.5
5.0
4.1

2.1
3.7
9.5
11.1
0.7

-0.7
0.2
-0.9

-726.5
119.8
259.5
-139.7

Net Goods & Services (BOP) -714.6

Investment Income, Net
Direct, Net
Portfolio, Net

130.5
261.2
-130.7

-712.3

-702.6
-4.9
78.5
196.5
-118.0

-554.9

-595.3
-4.2

41.7
159.0
-117.2

-416.6

-508.5
-3.6

40.8
153.2
-112.4

-413.1

-495.1
-3.5

43.8
154.1
-110.4

-428.0

-507.1
-3.6

51.4
163.6
-112.2

-462.4

-533.9
-3.8

57.9
172.1
-114.2

-499.9

-564.9
-4.0

63.8
179.6
-115.8

-502.4

-561.4
-4.0

66.5
186.3
-119.8

-513.9

-570.3
-4.0

67.9
192.3
-124.4

-544.9

-602.9
-4.2

1. Merchandise exports excluding computers and semiconductors.
2. Merchandise imports excluding oil, natural gas, computers, and semiconductors.

Other Inc. & Transfers, Net-134.2 -123.2 -120.8 -118.9 -133.6 -122.8 -122.8 -122.8 -122.8 -122.8 -122.8 -125.8
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

140.0
281.0
-141.0

-730.0
-5.1

-708.8
-5.0

US CURRENT ACCOUNT BALANCE
Current Account as % of GDP

Billions of dollars, s.a.a.r.

Net Goods & Services
-462.0 -381.3 -353.0 -372.8 -369.7 -368.7 -383.8 -411.1 -437.6 -436.4 -442.2 -463.8
Exports of G&S
1500.6 1544.7 1556.1 1454.8 1360.2 1340.7 1329.7 1325.4 1324.5 1326.6 1331.6 1338.6
Imports of G&S
1962.6 1926.0 1909.1 1827.6 1729.9 1709.4 1713.5 1736.5 1762.1 1763.0 1773.7 1802.4
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

5.1
6.4
0.4
4.6
4.7

Net Goods & Services
Exports of G&S
Imports of G&S

NIPA REAL EXPORTS and IMPORTS

------------------------- Projected ---------------------------2008
2009
2010
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------Q1
Q2
Q3
Q4
Q1
Q2
Q3
Q4
Q1
Q2
Q3
Q4
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

OUTLOOK FOR U.S. INTERNATIONAL TRANSACTIONS
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Class II FOMC
Restricted (FR)

I-53

Class II FOMC—Restricted (FR)

Abbreviations—Part 1
E&S

equipment and software

FOMC

Federal Open Market Committee; also, the Committee

GDP

gross domestic product

GSE

government-sponsored enterprise

IP

industrial production

MBS

mortgage-backed securities

NAIRU

nonaccelerating-inflation rate of unemployment

OPEC

Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries

PCE

personal consumption expenditures

TARP

Troubled Asset Relief Program

WTI

West Texas intermediate

I-54
Last page of part 1