inflation

A month ago, the market was rampant with crazy speculation, not about if the Fed was going to raise rates, but when and by how much."Fed Funds futures now imply a near certainty of two 25 basis point rate increases by November."-FT, 10 Jun…

I might have egg all over my face quicker than quick about my $150 oil call. It seems the Fannie-Freddie bailout chatter is spooking stock markets, currency markets and the oil market. This is going to be a volatile day.The dollar dropped…

Who says producers can't pass on rising costs? This is one of the reasons many economists fear commodity inflation; somehow it gets embedded into the system if it goes on too long.Procter & Gamble Co., the maker of Tide laundry…

Recession worries at the heart of Europe deepened as it was revealed that factory orders in Germany declined unexpectedly for the sixth straight month. With inflation and interest rates rising, it seems rather unlikely that Germany can…

I have said that the Fed is dovish and wants inflation to do its job of reducing the economic burden of the massive debt in the United States. Fed Governor William Poole, who just recently left the Fed, has apparently confirmed this. See…

Monetary policy has never been so interesting. With price increases in food and energy causing upheaval around the globe, citizens of the world are crying out for policy makers to get a handle on inflation. Yet, the global banking system…

So after much posturing about inflation and what to do about it, the Fed backed down, and the ECB stepped up to the plate. What the effect on currencies and the bond market will be is anyone's guess. But, given the Fed's rhetoric does not…

Update 4 Jul 2008: see a fuller answer to this question at my new post: The ECB is right and the Fed is wrongThat's the question Ambrose Evans-Pritchard addressed in his blog yesterday. I am firmly in the deflationist camp, meaning…

I am firmly in the deflation camp. I worry about inflation over the short-term, but I still think the long-term threat to the global economy is deflation because asset price deflation will usher in deflationary forces. Nevertheless, there…

The Fed has lost all credibility in the markets. On Wednesday, Ben Bernanke was unable to put his money where his mouth is. Earlier, he jawboned on inflation, trying to match the BoE and the ECB in rhetoric, but his actions speak louder…