inflation

Even before the crisis, there were some who stressed that monetary policy should keep an eye on asset bubbles and the growth of credit. This column argues that the policy of inflation targeting, used widely in the 1990s and 2000s, did…

A friend tipped me off to this BIS paper from 2009. It looks into unconventional monetary policy and the inflationary consequences of adding a huge amount of reserves to the system. The abstract reads as follows:  Abstract The recent…

By Sober Look Economists continue to insist that there is no connection between Fed's monetary expansion and increases in commodity prices, particularly agricultural products globally (discussed here). Here is a typical comment:  If it is…

Editor's note: As controversial as the subject of peak oil is, the comments about global warming and other environmental problems are equally controversial. This site does not subscribe to the view that global warming concern is overblown…

A few hours ago I wrote a rather downbeat post on the prospects for the US economy that continued the thoughts from an article I wrote in the New York Times. A number of other sources have confirmed some of the logic behind that post since…

By Sober Look China's Ministry of Commerce blamed the increase in vegetable prices on "strong winds and rainfall in the country's eastern regions" that "disrupted production and logistics." Nevertheless vegetable prices are up 15.4% over…

The US consumer can't catch a break. As if rising food prices weren't enough - with corn prices at record highs and other food prices expected to move higher next year - we now also have a sharp increase in gasoline prices.

Mario Draghi's comments earlier today showing the ECB's commitment to the euro to do whatever it takes to keep the single currency intact were greeted by most with a sense of relief. In Germany, there was consternation within the German…

By Sober Look Further evidence of Argentina's crashing economy is now directly visible in the nation's GDP contraction. Reuters: - Argentina's economy contracted in May while industrial production slumped further in June, data…

Links from the past couple of days featuring articles on price stability, mobile competition and the European crisis and much more.