In what has been one of the more remarkable turnarounds in perhaps all economic history, to start the 1980’s the Federal Reserve was roundly rejected. The US central bank was thought a collection of anachronistic malcontents who were unequal to every task. They had made a mess of the 1970’s, and furthermore they were the last to figure that out. [...]
I for go one can’t wait for a quadrillion. Nothing could so far both implicate Economists as well as demonstrate the folly of following them like the potential for the Bank of Japan’s balance sheet to hit that mark. In the coming months, BoJ will be at the halfway point, though I doubt there will be any celebrations. The central [...]
Like it or not, this is where we have been all along and a great many people are just now catching up. No matter what Janet Yellen says about the economy, she is talking out the side of her mouth. Internally, the recovery is gone, and it is never coming back. Externally, we have sub-5% unemployment so we all should [...]
It is all but forgotten now, but in the latter part of 2012 there was widespread angst about a looming “fiscal cliff.” The so-called stabilizers put in place during the crisis were set to expire on January 1, 2013. That’s the deal with stabilizers, as they are always meant to be a temporary boost during recessions. The fact that there [...]
Where are we in history when the avowed Socialist (capital “S”) from Vermont is the only voice of reason for the Democratic Party in the aftermath of last week’s election? I don’t intend to make this some kind of political screed against one party or the other; I am on record numerous times claiming the America we live in of [...]
In economics, there is a great deal of thought and debate surrounding first and second order effects. In short, a first order effect is something that is directly caused by some change, while a second order effect is caused by the first order effect. In many instances it is the second order effects that countermand any of the first, rendering [...]
One of the primary points of emphasis with regard to Japan’s QQE was the yen itself. Pushing the value down, even by misconceptions about what central banks do, was supposed to simultaneously increase inflation pressures via the currency translation while also stimulating the export sector to a sufficient degree that Japan Inc. would be reborn and share the nominal gains [...]
There is a core fallacy at the heart of monetary policy (actually there are many, but I'll keep it to just this single instance for the sake of brevity), one that was exposed by Milton Friedman himself, though indirectly and quite accidentally related to how he proposed an alternate scenario for the Great Depression. His view was that the Fed by [...]
What happened in the period between 2007 and 2011 was the same that happened in 1930 and really 1931. The monetary “miracle” of the 1920’s was predicated on the same sets of inequalities and imbalances; revealed afterward in not just the crash that unwound the core processes but really in the lack of recovery that followed. We need only turn [...]
It seems as if the FOMC still doesn’t know what to make of itself. In June, the May payroll report released earlier that month clearly spooked them; not even Esther George bothered to dissent in favor a rate increase. Since then, the world seems so much better. The media tells us with every new economic release how “strong” the economy [...]
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