inflation

I wrote a note regarding the Q1 2009 GDP report which mentioned that the price deflator showed a large pick up in actual inflation. While I don't think we are off to the races immediately, I do see inflation as a medium-term threat and this…

Ten-year treasuries are yielding about 3.15% now, that is a significant increase from a yield of just over 2% in December. I for one, thought that Treasuries were in a bubble at 2% (See my post, "Treasurys are in a bubble" from December…

The U.S. GDP report for the first quarter of 2009 was pretty awful.  GDP came in much worse than expected at an annualized  -6.1% below Q4.  Here are a few data points (all referencing real GDP data): The numbers were much worse than…

When the United States closed the gold window in 1971, the world entered a new era in which nearly all money was supported by nothing more than the full faith and credit of the governments issuing it. If one looks back to the history of…

Jim Grant is definitely not in the deflation camp. He believes a robust policy response and enormous expansion in the Fed balance sheet is storing up monster inflationary forces which could take holding a recovery. As a result, he is…

This is a re-post that I hope serves as a reminder that although we are NOT talking about a liquidity crisis in the financial sector, but rather a solvency crisis, liquidity remains very much a concern. This post, despite being 6 months…

This post is a contribution from Rob Parteneau of MacroStrategy Edge about fiscal expansion, printing money, avoiding debt deflation, and U.S. treasuries. He has some great insights on deflationary spirals, the paradox of thrift and the…

Paul Kasriel thinks the Fed announcement that it is monetizing the U.S. Federal Government's deficit is very important. He ends his article at Northern Trust with these words: In the coming months, the federal government is going to be…

You probably saw this one already, but a pair of suspected narcotics traffickers threw gads of money from their car window while being pursued by the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) in a car chase in San Diego. Basically, it was free money…

Quantitative easing is now the main policy course for the U.S. Federal Reserve. The U.S. Federal reserve is buying $300 billion in long-term U.S. government debt in order to keep interest rates low. As a result, the rally I in Treasuries…