monetary policy

The G20 will meet in Mexico this weekend. There seems to be three key issues: IMF funding, replacement for Zoellick, who will step down as head of the World Bank, and the oil shock. It is unlikely that any of these issues are resolved at…

This is an interesting one from Bill Gross on financial repression. It goes back to the policies I have called rate easing and permanent zero, where the Fed is practically guaranteeing yields out to three years. Bill Gross sees this and…

Great chart from the recently released Economic Report of the President. We suspect the Great Depression housing bust didn’t have the government props to soften the blow as we do today, which, therefore, on a relative basis, makes the…

There have been four noteworthy developments today that will shape the investment environment.

The ECB and BOE have shown their intent with their recent aggressive balance sheet expansions and the Fed is trying hard to keep the door open for more QE even as the data in the US continues to defy the general global slowdown. In Asia…

The US dollar is broadly mixed against the majors and EMs after the market appears to have shrugged off Moody’s downgrades of European sovereigns. Central banks ability to surprise the market remains intact, even in these trying times. It…

Deficit fatigue has set in as large scale deficit spending has become politically unacceptable. Austerity is now in. This has caused a recession throughout Europe and weakened the US. To counteract this fiscal retrenchment, monetary…

Jim Rickards, author of Currency Wars, was on capital Account last night and he thinks both QE3 and war with Iran are distinct possibilities. Take a look.

One conclusion from the Fed's actions is that it doesn't care as much about its inflation target as it does about improving the unemployment rate. Thus, it will err on the side of letting inflation rise, if it would improve unemployment.…

Cash accounts for almost 6% of all corporate assets and the highest in sixty years. This increase is a result of a number of factors. Record profits give businesses the wherewithal. But corporations are not rewarded for the cash holdings.…