monetary policy

The federal funds rate has been creeping up in recent days.  At first, many dismissed it as a technical quirk.  In early February, the effective federal funds rate firmed to 14 bp as it did in early March.  However it did not…

This is the first in a series of posts about ideas for financial reform generated by the “Make Markets Be Markets” conference I attended yesterday in New York City on 3 Mar 2010. We heard presentations from speakers like Simon Johnson,…

This is a post by Edward Hugh, who also blogs at Global Economy Matters. In the time of my confession, in the hour of my deepest need When the pool of tears beneath my feet flood every newborn seed There’s a dyin’ voice…

A post by Marc Chandler, head of Brown Brother Harriman’s Currency Strategy Team. For BBH’s currency views, visit the website here. The G20 meet this weekend and it has drawn little attention thus far.  South Korea heads up the G20…

A post by Marc Chandler, head of Brown Brother Harriman’s Currency Strategy Team. For BBH’s currency views, visit the website here. Many investments houses have been extremely bullish on the Swedish krona.  Swedish shares have…

A few thoughts on the links here Notice Michael Tomasky’s calls for higher taxes. He says: If there is one core attribute that makes Democrats Democrats, it is that they believe in government, which means you have to believe in taxes,…

The following is a post which first appeared at the Big Picture from Paul Brodsky & Lee Quaintance who run QB Partners, a private macro-oriented investment fund based in New York. --- We Are All Austrians Now Things are different…

Marc Chandler had some good comments on the Greek debt crisis this morning. The main issues, he believes, are contagion and uncertainty, especially as it pertains to sovereign debt infecting the private sector and vice versa. He said:…

I first featured some commentary by Fred Sheehan in November on a muni post The coming collapse of the municipal bond market. Now Fred is back and he’s on the radio, talking with Jim Puplava about Sir Alan Greenspan this time.  It will…

I post this one half tongue-in-cheek (hat tip Scott).  A picture of Ben Bernanke was shown round to players from the Super Bowl’s Indianapolis Colts (once a local team here in the Baltimore-Washington area, but that’s another…