Category Archives: Federal Reserve

The Fed Has Not Covered Itself in Glory: Fed Funds Mess Edition

Why the Fed should be embarrassed.

Kalecki, Minsky, and “Old Keynesianism” Vs. “New Keynesianism” on the Effect of Monetary Policy

Larry Summers, a barometer of leading edge conventional wisdom, questions Keynesianism as a distortion of Keynes and for its overconfidence in monetary policy.

Marshall Auerback: We Are Clearly Living in a Bizarro Capitalism Era—And It’s Time to Change How the World Manages Economies

Central banks don’t have the tools to address our problems. It will take well-constructed fiscal policy to set right our topsy-turvy economy.

The Fed Thinks the US Economy Is Fine. Do You?

Seeking reader input on the health of their economy.

Michael Hudson: Why Frances Coppola’s “The Case for the People’s Quantitative Easing” Is for Banks, Not the People

A dubious proposal to continue over-reliance on monetary policy, this time with a quantitative easing scheme, instead of fiscal spending.

Trump Was [Selectively] Right About the Dollar

Turns out Trump was not all wrong in saying the dollar was overpriced.

Taxes for Revenue Are Obsolete

In a 1946 classic, New York Fed chairman Beardsley Ruml explains why taxes aren’t necessary for Federal spending and argues against corporate income taxes.

Martin Wolf v. Trumponomics Whiffs Due to Fealty to Orthodoxy

The Financial Times’ Martin Wolf has a go at Donald Trump, but manages to score an own goal as far as his profession is concerned.

The Global Capital Flows Cycle and Its Drivers: Not Only a US Monetary Policy Story

Financial shocks matter more than US monetary policy. Domestic policies may still mitigate the cycle of global capital flows at the country level.

Are Cryptocurrencies the First Crack in the Wall to Regulate Facebook?

Like Icarus, the social media monopoly is flying too close to the sun and generating much regulatory heat, which could eventually lead to its downfall.

Wolf Richter: Bring on Higher Oil Prices: They’ll Boost the US Economy. Powell Sees it Too. A New Experience for the US

The plunge in oil prices since August has caused the oil-and-gas sector to get skittish with capital expenditures this year, and Powell picked up on that. Investment in the US shale sector has a big impact on the real economy.

St. Louis Fed Study Shows Rising Level of Financial Desperation Among the Poor, Hidden by Aggregates

A new St. Louis Fed analysis shows the wealth of areas in financial distress deteriorated from 2015 to 2018, reversing a pattern of gains that had started in 2010.

All Eyes on the Fed

The latest round of debate on what the Fed might do down the road.

The Media Endlessly Talks About Interest Rates—Are They Even an Effective Economic Tool at This Point?

Interest rates are a poor substitute for fiscal spending and as we’ve seen, over-reliance on monetary policy produces speculative booms and busts. More and more people recognize this formula isn’t working, but what will it take to change course?

Fed Official: Climate Change is an ‘International Market Failure’

A report from the U.S. central bank cautions that rising temperatures and extreme storms could eventually trigger a financial collapse.