President Obama has to be at least a little bit jealous of the power yielded by China’s leaders. He may use executive orders to get his way, but he has…
Don’t Bet On It
“ … human beings have a natural tendency to manage risk after the fact.” Michael…
Just In Time for Christmas
Even if it were wrapped in shiny paper with a big red bow on it, virtually everyone would have guessed at this year’s Christmas present from the Federal Reserve Board.…
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…
The Big Disconnect
Imagine being stuck in a blizzard. You look out your window and can see the snow piling up outside, yet the meteorologist on your TV is forecasting continuing sunshine and…
Fed Policy Brings Record Stock Buybacks
Just once, we’d like to post that the economy is growing like pumpkins in September, that personal income is soaring (or at least not falling), that jobs are being created,…
A Way Out for the Fed
The economy grew at a tepid rate of 1.5% during the third quarter. More than 100 million Americans aren’t working. And the inflation rate is near zero. That’s after seven…
Show Us the Money
The bright spot in this limp recovery has been the unemployment rate, which has fallen to 5.1%. But don’t look too closely, or you’ll notice that the spot is not…
How Ben Bernanke Saved the World
“It became necessary to destroy the town to save it.” U.S. major talking about Bến Tre, Vietnam The Wall Street…
Abnormalization and QE4
It seems to be a policy of the Federal Reserve Board to never use a two-syllable word when a four- or five-syllable word is available. So we have “quantitative easing”…