Harvey & Irma potential costs begin to mount

Estimates of the damage caused by Hurricane Harvey have been rising in recent days, but we still expect the short-term negative impact on activity and employment to be modest. Unfortunately, it now appears that disruption will be compounded by Hurricane Irma, a category five storm, expected to hit Florida this weekend. It is too early to tell what impact Irma will have, but an evacuation of South Florida would affect up to seven million people.