Fed corrects a key rental-affordability comparison in Barr’s housing speech

Review BLS payrolls, unemployment and CPI. Survey measures and private employment estimates use different definitions.

Federal Reserve Governor Michael Barr said September 29 that further policy adjustments are likely in his base case after September’s increase. He judged inflation risks to have risen and labor-market risks to have receded. His discussion also separated AI’s near-term investment demand from uncertain longer-term productivity benefits.

In a September 29 Sibos speech, Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller distinguished AI-assisted purchases from transactions delegated to agents. He highlighted authority to pay, responsibility for mistaken purchases, fraud-model recalibration and controls for higher-value business payments. Interoperability across payment rails is another unresolved design question.

Two September 28 Federal Reserve staff notes find that vehicle import unit values can misstate tariff pass-through when the model mix changes, while the 2021–22 chip shortage cut U.S. light-vehicle production by more than 2 million units and pushed automakers toward higher-priced vehicles and deleted features.