We’ve explained in the past how the federal government puts a yellow smiley face on its unemployment figures by excluding Americans who have given up looking for work and including…
Land of the Setting Sun
Let’s pretend that the United States economy is a football team. The coach calls the play. The running back runs right up the middle and is thrown for a loss. …
“It’s the Economy, Stupid.”
In this week’s election, Democrats attempted to label Republicans as “the party of ‘no.’ ” Instead, voters labeled Democrats as the party of no jobs, no growth and no clue.…
QE RIP
So the Federal Reserve Board has made it official. This is the end of quantitative easing. It’s quits for QE. Bond buying has gone bye bye. Quantitative easing has been…
Repeat After Me: The Economy Is Improving. The Economy Is Improving.
If you repeat something often enough, you may even start to believe it. So try this phrase: “The economy is improving. The economy is improving. The economy is improving.” Certainly,…
Satan Is a High-Frequency Trader
Satan is now firmly in control of the markets. No, we’re not talking about Ben Bernanke, aka Edward Quince. His time has passed. We’re talking about a high-frequency trader who…
Too Much Interest in Interest Rates
There has been much market panic of late over the possibility that the Federal Reserve Board will be raising interest rates sometime in the not-too-distant future. Small cap stocks were…
Now Bad News Is Bad News
With the end of quantitative easing due to take place next month, reality may once again have an impact on financial markets. Since QE began more than five years ago,…
Less than “Less than Zero”
In June, the ECB lowered the interest rate on bank deposits, including reserve holdings in excess of the minimum reserve requirements, from zero to -0.10%. This week, surprising just about…