What was I thinking? Over the past couple of years, I’ve preached caution. Corporate profits were down and unemployment was up. The economy wasn’t growing, but the federal debt was. …
Giving Thanks
Given our general grumpiness and Chicken Little attitude about current economic policies, you might think we’re not big on giving thanks. Not true. We love Thanksgiving. This uniquely American holiday…
Taperphobia Hits Wall Street
A taperphobia epidemic has Wall Street in a panic yet again. “Taperphobia” is an irrational fear of common sense. Symptoms include a falling stock market, soaring bond yields and ongoing…
The Queen of QE
Amidst a government shutdown, a debt-ceiling crisis and other assorted financial turmoil, President Obama this week nominated Janet L. Yellen to chair the Federal Reserve Board. As a Keynesian economist…
At The Fed, Saying Trumps Doing
President Obama’s campaign slogan for last year’s election was “Forward.” The Federal Reserve Board’s slogan in the coming months may be “forward guidance.” According to Goldman Sachs, The Fed is…
Keep On Easing
Ease on. That’s the message that Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke delivered this week, causing the bond market to rally, the stock market to hit new highs and the seas to…
Market Reaction To Comments Reflects Market Efficiency
It’s worth keeping the efficient market hypothesis in mind when considering the impact of Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke’s announcement this week that bond buying will be coming to an end.…
Financial Tsunami
In a recent post, we speculated about what would happen when quantitative easing finally ends. This week we got a glimpse. After Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said that…
Blame It on Sequestration
President Obama and the Federal Aviation Administration blamed recent flight delays on sequestration. Now the Federal Reserve Board’s Open Market Committee is blaming sequestration for the poor performance of the…