Yesterday I responded to a reader who asked if "The Fed is out of control". In short, I said no, not in the sense that critics have charged them with "out of control printing of money" that could produce inflation. But I left the post with an acknowledgement that the secrecy of The Fed carries … Continue reading Is The Fed Corrupt or Captured?
central bank
Libya, Tunisia, Egypt – One of These Is Not Like The Other
Lately I've been puzzled about why NATO and the U.S. have intervened militarily in Libya, but stayed out of popular rebellions in Tunisia, Egypt, Yemen, Bahrain, and other middle east countries. Human rights concerns doesn't seem to fully explain it. After all governments in Yemen and Bahrain in particular have violated human rights without so … Continue reading Libya, Tunisia, Egypt – One of These Is Not Like The Other
Innovation in Monetary Policy in Sweden Works: Negative Interest Rates
The Sveriges Riksbank (a.k.a. Riksbanken), the Swedish central bank, tried an innovation in monetary policy two years ago in July 2009 when it set the official deposit rate at a negative interest rate of -.25%. The objective was to stimulate and motivate banks to lend their "excess" reserves to businesses and households and to therefore … Continue reading Innovation in Monetary Policy in Sweden Works: Negative Interest Rates
Inflation vs. The Cost of Living
We are now seeing a disconnect between how the public and policymakers/central banks perceive what each calls "inflation". The public at large, encouraged by talk from the hard-money gold crowd, are encouraged to see "inflation" whenever certain key prices go up. Recently we've seen gasoline and food prices go up, and along with these price increases more … Continue reading Inflation vs. The Cost of Living
EconProph 