Part one of two. Pretty much everyone was pleased to see 2020 come to an end. We’ve had to endure a pandemic that seems to be growing worse by the…
Where They Stand, Part Two: The Economy
Economic policies will be especially important as the country seeks to continue its recovery from the lockdown. Millions of Americans lost their jobs, and thousands of businesses either closed for…
2010s vs. 2000s
By most accounts, 2019 was a very good year. Stock indices set new records and the historically longest bull market continued. So did the historically longest recovery. In 2018, the…
Economic Freedom Improving in the U.S.
When we last wrote about the Index for Economic Freedom, the U.S. had dropped to #18 in the world. A year later, it has leaped forward to #12. That still…
The Fed’s “Professor Standard” Flunking Out
The Federal Reserve Board’s academic approach to managing the economy has been flunking out. Some are making the argument that the Federal Reserve Board could use a fresh perspective –…
In China, 6.4% Growth Is Bad News
Growth is relative. In the U.S., we thought it was good news when the economy started growing again at a rate of 3+%. During the Obama Administration, when the economy…
Fed Driving in Reverse – Part 2
While the Federal Reserve Board may have contributed to December’s market swoon, it also played a role in the stock market’s best January performance in more than three decades. In…
Debt, Monetary Policy Causing Economic Damage
Even with interest rates just above zero for seven years, and government spending regularly producing deficits of $1 trillion a year, economic growth was well below average throughout the Obama…
When Good News Is Bad News
The U.S. has clearly overcome the financial crisis, even as many other countries continue to struggle, but the impact on investments is sometimes perverse. As the Fed lowered interest rates,…
Is Today’s Growth Sustainable? It Depends Who You Ask.
Many journalists and economists are still skeptical about the impact of tax reform and deregulation, in spite of current economic growth and the lowest rate of unemployment since before the…