Economist Robert Barro joins the chorus of voices against QEII:
My conclusion is that QE2 may be a short-term expansionary force, thereby lessening concerns about deflation. However, the Treasury can produce identical effects by changing the maturity structure of its outstanding debts. The downside of QE2 is that it intensifies the problems of an ( Read more... )

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For those of us who remember, the Clinton administration was full of Goldman-Sachs people, too. Most notably: Robert Rubin. Rubin argued against the regulation of derivatives, earning rare criticism (in hindsight) from Clinton. Rubin correctly noted that people who invested in derivatives needed to understand the risks and regulations were more ( Read more... )

Woo! No giveaways to anyone ( Read more... )

I suppose it is fitting that Halloween is approaching as the left tries to scare us (yet again) about "deregulation".

As always, the facts are to be found elsewhere.

IMO, if you want a single point of failure, this is it:
The Community Reinvestment Act. This 1977 law compels banks to make loans to poor borrowers who often cannot repay them. Banks ( Read more... )

In the "too early to tell" department, the following move may help or harm efforts to stabilize investment banks:
WASHINGTON - It was the end of an era on Wall Street as the Federal Reserve granted permission for the last two major investment banks - Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley - to become bank holding companies in order to stay in business ( Read more... )

This should come as no surprise:
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Federal Reserve cut interest rates by a quarter-percentage point on Wednesday to buffer the economy from a housing downturn, but suggested further rate reductions were far from a sure bet.
As some have pointed out, there isn't really a credit problem for credit worthy applicants. I'd hate ( Read more... )

Financial markets respond positively to larger than expected cuts in key rates by the Federal Reserve.
NEW YORK - A jubilant Wall Street barreled higher Wednesday (sic) after the Federal Reserve cut its benchmark interest rate by a larger-than-expected half a percentage point. The Dow Jones industrial average surged more than 250 points after the ( Read more... )

The Fed cut its overnight rate in the wake of continued liquidity problems among mortgage providers.
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- In a move applauded by financial markets on both sides of the Atlantic, the Federal Reserve announced Friday that it's cut the discount rate by half a percentage point to 5.75 ( Read more... )

Not the 1970s kind that we all know and love, but a serious issue nonetheless. Unfortunately some of our inflation fighting knowledge seems to have evaporated over time.

The economic situation, especially the flattening job growth, are an argument in favor of lower rates from the Fed. Meanwhile, the rising inflation is a sign that speculation to ( Read more... )

The Phillips Curve rises from the dead and makes 11 appearances at the Federal ReserveNumber of times it should have appeared: zero. Unless, of course, it was prefaced with "widely discredited ( Read more... )