Jobs 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 ArticleDoes Monetary Policy Have a Future?
I have chosen a provocative title, but it is fully justified. Fed officials are flying on autopilot, but the controls don’t work anymore, or at least not reliably. Fed watchers are largely clueless....
View Article34th Annual Monetary Conference - Panel 3: The Problem Of A Centrally Planned...
The Cato Institute’s Center for Monetary and Financial Alternatives invites you to join us at CATO’S 34TH ANNUAL MONETARY CONFERENCE. Leading experts will address the risks inherent in the...
View ArticleIs Federal Reserve Action Irrelevant to Inflation Expectations?
When the Federal Reserve governors meet next week, will their decisions have any impact on the real economy? And could any Trump-selected Fed governors help? Jerry Jordan and Gerald P. O’Driscoll, Jr....
View ArticleAt Long Last, the Fed Faces Reality
As was widely anticipated, Federal Reserve officials voted Wednesday to raise short-term interest rates by a quarter percentage point—only the second increase since the 2008 financial crash. The...
View ArticleWhy Three Rate Hikes in 2017 May Not Be Enough
The Federal Reserve is widely expected to increase the short-term interest rates it controls by 25 basis points. There have been a string of statements to that effect by Fed Governors and Presidents....
View ArticleBig Jobs Number Gives the Fed Ammunition for 2017
Job creation in April was strong at 211,000. The report confirmed an expected spring bounce back from somewhat lackluster first quarter jobs growth and exceeded expectations. The drop in the...
View ArticleAllan Meltzer Remembered
Like Allan Meltzer, I received my Ph.D. from UCLA. He and his major professor, Karl Brunner, had both left by the time I arrived. UCLA is an important intellectual connection. At the time, UCLA was...
View ArticleThe Jobs Conundrum
At next week’s FOMC meeting, the state of the labor market will play a key role in policy deliberations. But there’s a lot more going on underneath top line unemployment numbers that make them a bad...
View ArticleHere’s What the Fed Just Signaled about the Rest of 2017
The Federal Open Market Committee delivered on its long-signaled quarter-point hike in the target range for the federal funds rate. Markets will now focus on the committee’s next move. There are two...
View ArticleThe Fed’s Inflation Dilemma
The Fed is embarked on a program of rate hikes, namely increases in the interest rates it pays on reserve balances and on reverse repos. Its justification is what it perceives to be a strong labor...
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