Via Karen Moley:
… economists warn the US central bank will have no option to shelve any plans for hiking US interest rates this year to compensate for the hit to US economic activity after Harvey shuttered businesses and made it impossible for people to get to work. Some estimate that Harvey could slice as much as 1.5 percentage points off US GDP growth in the third quarter, and that the economic impact of Irma, depending on where it makes landfall, could be even greater.
The US Federal Reserve is already keenly aware that Harvey has caused economic activity to weaken. Its latest “beige book” – a roundup of anecdotal information about regional economic conditions which was compiled before Harvey hit – contains a special note on Harvey’s economic impact.