JPM economist Michael Feroli said that......>

US VIEW: JPM economist Michael Feroli said that "Hurricane Harvey may first

depress economic activity, then support it over time as rebuilding takes hold."

- He said "the net impact on (US) Q3 and Q4 GDP should be positive, but very

small; we are not changing our forecast. There may be a few noticeable effects

on the high-frequency data."

- He adds that "any assessment of the economic impact of Hurricane Harvey will

be inherently subject to a fair degree of uncertainty, given the recency of the

event. As a general rule, hurricanes tend to be a short-run depressant and a

medium-run boost to economic activity. (Here we should pause to emphasize the

usual disclaimer: economic growth does not always correspond with economic

well-being)."