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Current-account deficits have caused problems in several Eurozone countries, but surpluses are also an issue. This column argues that surpluses are detrimental to the welfare of the population to the extent they are driven by structural…

Newman: "in my own book the explanation starts the cycle with government spending, thus adding to the money supply, and then issuing treasuries for roughly equivalent amount. The bond vigilantes really have it backwards.

So imagine you are a moderate FOMC member. This is the economic situation you face and the trade-offs in terms of policy tools.

Federal Reserve Governor Stein: The traditional, pre-crisis framing of the question went something like this: Should policymakers rely on ex ante measures to lean against potential financial imbalances as they build up, and thereby lower…

Deficits present governments with the sole challenge of making good on future promises without inflation. For nations sovereign in currency, the constraint is inflation, not solvency.

The Eurozone’s tangle of conflicting goals – a series of ‘trilemmas’ – is not without precedent. This column argues that it is reminiscent of the interwar situation. The interwar slump was so intractable not just due to financial issues,…

The Federal Open Market Committee has used various forms of forward guidance to influence the views of businesses, investors and households about where monetary policy is likely to be headed. This column by the President of the San…

QE is still on, but central banks are pondering exit pathways. Exit requires vacuuming up excess reserves, winding down massive securities holdings, and restoring normal interest rates – all without killing the recovery. This column points…

This note comes via New Economic Perspectives in response to Bill Black's article The housing appraisers warned us about the crisis but we didn’t listen that appeared here.

The following are today's prepared remarks of the Semiannual Monetary Policy Report to the US Congress by US Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke. While the totality of Chairman Bernanke's remarks are not new, we have underlined and…