QUESTION 1

1. Go the the FRED website

https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/PERMIT

Click on plus sign in the top left corner under"observations."

Look for data for July, August, September 2020. New Private Housing Units Authorized by Building Permits. Thousands of units, seasonally adjusted ).

Question: What is the trend in the numbers from July to Sept. 2020?

Building permits are a type of authorization that must be granted by a government or other regulatory body before the construction of a new or existing building can legally occur. The U.S. Census Bureau reports the finalized number of the total monthly building permits on the 18th working day of every month.

The monthly building permit report is closely watched by economists and investors and alike. Since all related factors associated with the construction of a building are important economic activities (for example, financing and employment), the building permit report can give a major hint as to the state of the economy in the near future. Source: Investopedia

a. Increasing from July to Sept.

b. Decreasing from July to Sept.

c. Decreasing from July to August and increasing from Aug.toSept.

d. Increasing from July to August and decreasing from Aug.toSept.

QUESTION 2

1. Go to FRED (data by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis Missouri)

https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/HOUST

Click on the plus sign below "observations" in the left hand corner to get data.

Question:What is the trend in the 'Housing Starts' from July to Sept. 2020? (data is in thousands of units, seasonallyadjusted)

a. Increasing from July to Sept.

b. decreasing from July to Sept.

c. Increasing from July to Augustand decreasing from August to Sept.

d. decreasing from July to August and increasing from August to Sept.

QUESTION 3

1. Go to FRED and look up the seasonally adjusted 'Existing Home Sales' data. Click on the plus sign in the upper left corner.

https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/EXHOSLUSM495S

Question: How many existing new homes were sold in Sept.2020? From July to Sept.2020, what is the trend?

a. 5,980,000;Decreasing all the way

b. 6,540,000;increasing all the way

c. 6,540,000;Decreasing between July &Augustand then increasing

d. 6,540,000;Increasing between July &Augustand then decreasing

QUESTION 4

1. Go to FREDhttps://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/HSN1F

You are looking for data on "New one-family Homes Sales." Click on the plus sign in the upper left corner.

Question: How many new one family homes were sold in September 2020?

a. 959 thousands

b. 959

c. 994 thousand

d. 994

QUESTION 5

1.Dr. RajChetty is a Harvard economist who has been studying equality of opportunity in the United States for sometimes now and offering solutions.(If you want to read about this economist and the unique data set he has created, click on this articlethat appeared inBloombergNews)

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2020-09-24/harvard-economist-raj-chetty-creates-god-s-eye-view-of-pandemic-damage

Recently the website created by Chetty and others has looked closely at the impact ofCoronaviruson different regions of the United Stateswith real time data. I want us to look at different counties of NY states. You will have to click on a few pages to get to that.

1. Visit the following website

https://opportunityinsights.org/

2. Now click on the tab "Explore the Data" which is below the heading,"The Opportunity Insights Economic Tracker: Supporting the Recovery from COVID-19."

3. This will bring you to a page with the heading,Track the economic impacts of COVID-19 on people, businesses, and communities across the United States in real time.Click on "Explore the data" at the bottom of this page.

4. In the "View" section at the top (below the blue banner), it has a nationalmap showingPercentage change in Employment."

5. Pick NY state. and then pick "counties."

Question: NY has 62 counties. Pick a county that begins with the first letter of your last name. If no such county exists, keep going until you find one with a letter in your last or first name. (Example: MacDonald will pick Montgomery county).

Record the following information below

a. Percentage change in employmentfor high wage earners (>$60 k)

b. Percentage change in employment for middle wage earners. ($27k - $60 K)

c. Percentage change in employment for low wage earner (less than $27K)

d. Now click on "Choose an indicator" from the top (blue banner). Pick any two and report what you find in your county. (The indicators can be from Spending, Businesses, Education, and public health)

e. Provide any insights you may have from your own experience or the experiences of people you know as to how this Coronaviruspandemic has affected jobs or incomes and what are people doing to cope with it.

QUESTION 6

1. U.S. Home Sales Rise to New 14-year High, Offering a Boost to the Economy.By Nicole Friedman. Oct. 22, 2020 (Hint for term paper: If you are using Housing Data as an indicator, this is a good article for analysis)

https://www.wsj.com/articles/existing-home-sales-rose-9-4-in-september-11603375549

Question: Which of the following statements is false?

a. Existing home sales, which make up most of the housing market, rose 9.4% in September, the highest since May 2006

b. Workers are moving from high-coast cities to more affordable places. San Francisco and New York City posted an annual decrease in the number of homes for sale in September.

c. The strong demand for housing is attributed to record low interest rates, millennials reaching home buying age, and desire for larger spaces due to Coronavirus.

d. Housing data that reflects building and new-home sales has been bullish. 'Housing Starts' and 'Residential Permits' both rose in September. Strong home sales can create more construction jobs and lead to more spending on home goods as furniture and appliances.

e. The shortage of homes, especially in lower price tier, has worsened in recent months.By the end of September there was a 2.7- month of supply of homes, the lowest level on record in data going back to 1982. The median existing- home prices rose 14.8% from a year earlier to $311,800, the highest annualmedian price increase in 15 years.

QUESTION 7

1. Officials Call for Quick Stimulus Deal to Forestall Lackluster U.S. Economic Recovery.ByByKate DavidsonandNick Timiraos.Oct. 23, 2020 7:00 am ET

https://www.wsj.com/articles/officials-call-for-quick-stimulus-deal-to-forestall-lackluster-u-s-economic-recovery-11603450801

Question: The current and former officials of the Federal Reserve Bank have been vocal about a quick stimulus deal

a. Because although interest rates are at a historic low, there is less they (i.e. the Fed with the monetary policy tools) can do to spur economic activity.

b. Because Fed's (monetary) policies are ill suited to fix income inequality. A fiscal stimulus is needed otherwise the current shock will worsen inequality leaving the bottom-earners further behind in the long-run.

c. Because something similar happened in 2008 when a burst of spending initially was followed by an abrupt reversal, leading to a very slow recovery. The former chairwoman of the Fed, Janet Yellen thinks, "this is not a good time to have a fiscal policy switch from being accommodative (i.e. expansionary fiscal policy) to creating a drag" (on the economy)

d. All of the above are reasons Fed officials want a quick stimulus deal.