 KTUU. In this year’s legislative push to approve an all-Alaska natural gas pipeline, the driving force has been state Department of Natural Resources Commissioner Joe Balash (NGP Photo).
"It's kind of like a big boulder," Balash said. "Once you get it moving, you want to keep it moving." |
Alaska Economic Update: Interest Rates, by Katie Bender. As readers review this, consider the effect of interest rate increases on Alaska state budget debt, on the cost of debt to fund state projects and on the effect of higher interest rates on the metrics of capital purchases for a gas pipeline, a bridge or a hydroelectric dam — and on future inflation. -dh
…since the end of 2012 interest rates for all maturities longer than one year have risen. The 10 year bond is highlighted. It rose 1.26% in 2013. Expectations are for rates to continue to rise as the Fed tapers it’s purchasing of longer maturity bonds and mortgage backed securities now that the unemployment rate has hit their target goal of 7%. At 6.5% they have signaled that they would start pushing the overnight Fed Funds rate up, which would create separation on the left side of the graph. It has remained at the historically low 0% – 0.25% target rate since December of 2008. This is unprecedented accommodative monetary policy for an extended period of time. It is likely that any rate Fed Funds rate increase would come at a slow and measured pace.
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