Right now, U.S. money is not tight at all. As of August 13, 2026, Bloomberg’s U.S. financial conditions index has returned to its loosest position since the 1990s.
This measure combines money-market rates, corporate bond and municipal bond spread levels, stock valuations, and the implied volatility of stocks and bonds into a single index; positive readings indicate conditions that are looser than the pre-crisis normal. The Chicago Fed’s other weekly financial conditions index for the week ending August 7 was -0.549; a negative value is also looser than the long-run average—though the two are based on different algorithms.
This measure combines money-market rates, corporate bond and municipal bond spread levels, stock valuations, and the implied volatility of stocks and bonds into a single index; positive readings indicate conditions that are looser than the pre-crisis normal. The Chicago Fed’s other weekly financial conditions index for the week ending August 7 was -0.549; a negative value is also looser than the long-run average—though the two are based on different algorithms.