The Chances of a Global Meltdown
Are we headed for another global financial crisis? The market convulsions of the past week reflected a continuation of a market selloff that began on the first trading day of 2016. Investors have...
View ArticleForget June. The Fed Isn't Likely to Hike Interest Rates until December
The Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged — no surprise there — moving the focus to the next Federal Open Market Committee meeting on June 14-15.The latest FOMC statement is little changed from...
View ArticleTrump on U.S. Foreign and Economic Policy
Leading Republican presidential candidate Donald J. Trump laid out a foreign policy approach that—not surprisingly—“would put America first”. In his carefully scripted (and read) first serious foray...
View ArticleSound Money in Theory and Practice
In this commentary, I will analyze the concept of sound money and its relevance today. The concept evolved in the 19th century as many countries adopted the gold standard. It became associated with...
View ArticleBrexit and Beyond
In this post, I will stray a bit from monetary issues but not too far. The British people voted last Thursday (June 23rd ) to exit the European Union. How should that decision be viewed by classical...
View ArticleCan the Fed Raise Interest Rates?
I chose my title carefully. I will focus on what is possible for the U.S. central bank to achieve rather than what they might want to accomplish or may attempt to effect. I examine three possible...
View ArticleThe Fed Is Overestimating Economic Growth
In her speech yesterday at the Federal Reserve’s annual conference in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, Fed Chair Janet Yellen stated that “the case for an increase in the federal funds rate has strengthened in...
View ArticleJobs Report Proves Janet Yellen Is Wrong about the Economy
The August jobs report was disappointing with job gains of 151,000, below the consensus forecast of a gain of 180,000 jobs. The reported August job gains were also considerably below the gains in June...
View Article