Topic: Sound Banking

Fed Swap Lines Purposefully Keeping Dollar Weak

– December 23, 2010

“In layman’s terms, we can think of a swap line as a standing guarantee of U.S. dollar liquidity. If you (as a central banker) ever need greenbacks in a pinch, you know you’ll be able to procure them instantly, no matter how “tight” the open market may …

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Stylized Facts, Public Policy and the “Crack Up Boom” – Peter Boettke

– December 16, 2010

“In reading Mises I am always struck by how fresh he still reads, and how relevant his analysis of contemporary policy in the first half of the 20th century still is relevant for us at the beginning of the 21st century. Of course, there is the enduring …

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“The New Big Picture”

– December 15, 2010

“On the other hand, all that has happened is that the tax rates that have now been in force for almost 10 years have been continued for 2 more years. The Fed has the economy fully primed for rising inflation and interest rates as the recovery takes hol …

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Ben Bernanke’s Bond Bunk

– December 8, 2010

“Here’s the problem in the main: Bernanke’s only tool to “tighten” monetary policy means selling bonds into the market and taking in cash from the system. But what happens if he holds bonds that have all gone down in value? He gets screwed, that’s what …

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“Credit-Card Borrowing Dips, but Student Loans Jump”

– December 7, 2010

“Consumer credit outstanding increased at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.7%, up by $3.4 billion to $2.4 trillion, a Federal Reserve report said Tuesday. The gain was the second in as many months following 19 straight losses. Economists surveyed …

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“The Fed’s Contrarian Has A Wary Eye on the Past”

– December 7, 2010

“Mr. Hoenig’s latest, loudest objections, aimed at the Fed’s risky $600 billion infusion into the markets to reinvigorate the economy, have made him a champion of the Fed’s critics in Congress, on Wall Street and among business leaders, who, like Mr. H …

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centralbanking

Why Do We Have a Central Bank?

– December 6, 2010

by Gerald P. O’Driscoll, Jr. Why do nations have central banks? Countries have developed without one, and sophisticated financial systems have evolved in their absence. Some countries with a central bank have suffered for having one. Zimbabwe comes to …

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“Fed Won’t Raise for Years Amid Slow Payrolls Growth, Gross Says”

– December 3, 2010

““Ultimately, the low interest rate and the negative real interest rate is a serious detriment to savings,” Gross said. “During periods of time like this in which governments are forced to move to extraordinary measures, it’s the saver that basically f …

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“Fed Official Urges More Stimulus”

– December 2, 2010

“Ballooning U.S. debt is a serious long-term threat, but the economy needs more stimulus now, a top Federal Reserve official said Wednesday. Fed Vice Chairwoman Janet Yellen said she supported the Federal Reserve’s latest move to stimulate the still-te …

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“Inflation in One Page” – Henry Hazlitt

– December 1, 2010

“Prolonged inflation never “stimulates” the economy. On the contrary, it unbalances, disrupts, and misdirects production and employment. Unemployment is mainly caused by excessive wage rates in some industries, brought about either by extortionate unio …

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Calculating the Cost of Government – The Independent Institute

– December 1, 2010

Our friends over at the Independent Institute are helping you find out just how much the U.S. government is costing you. Visit MyGovCost.org to access your Government Cost Calculator!

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“Bernanke Makes Case to Senators”

– November 18, 2010

“Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke defended the central bank’s plan to buy government bonds during a private gathering with U.S. senators, responding to several days of attacks from Republicans who say the Fed is causing inflation and weakening the …

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