Lowering interest rates is not necessarily a bad thing. It can make borrowing cheaper, which – at least in theory – will stimulate business investment. It can weaken the dollar,…
Nothing Lasts Forever
If the Federal Reserve Board has used all of its policy tools during the current expansion, what happens when there’s a recession? That’s a question worth asking, even as the…
Polar Vortex or Recession Redux?
The recovery that wasn’t a recovery may have come to an end, as the Bureau of Economic Analysis reported that gross domestic product dropped by 1% during the first quarter…
Household Income Shows Troubling Outcome
Hold off on the victory dance. The 2014 “Economic Report of the President” and many media reports indicate that the U.S. economy has finally recovered. But has it? One measure…
Wishful Thinking Does Not Create Economic Recovery
This was going to be the year. Remember the predictions of 3% economic growth? More recently, the consensus was 1.2% growth for the most recent quarter. It turns out, though,…
The Economic Recovery That No One Noticed
The average recovery since the end of World War II has been 58 months. The current “recovery” has just reached that milestone. So maybe we should be celebrating. But what’s…
Paper Taper
So the taper begins in January. Big deal. That was the market’s initial reaction anyway. In fact, the market viewed this week’s announcement as a positive, setting yet another record. …
Getting Your Bond Portfolio in Shape for 2014
It’s time to start thinking about New Year’s resolutions. It’s an American tradition to resolve to lose weight, exercise regularly, be nicer, work harder and give up everything you enjoy.…
The Off-On-Off Economy
The economy recently has been full of stops and starts, ups and downs, good news and bad news. Optimists will say that progress is being made, as we’ve moved beyond…
The Second Housing Bubble
“Demand is artificially high … and supply is artificially low.” …