The weather has done it again. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics last week reported annualized growth of a piddling 0.2% for the first quarter of 2015. The culprit, of…
Bubble Busters
“I had a stick of CareFree gum, but it didn’t work. I felt pretty good while I was blowing that bubble, but as soon as the gum lost its flavor,…
No Animals Harmed in Drafting Fed Policy Statement
Thousands of years ago, Roman soothsayers would visit the oracles and interpret the entrails of slaughtered animals. We haven’t advanced much since then. Fortunately, no animals are slaughtered today, but…
The Inflation Straw Man
“When real interest rates start to move up, that’s when the crisis could hit.” …
Another Year of ZIRP?
When the economy recovers, interest rates will go up, right? That’s been the Federal Reserve Board’s line for years now. Yet as the Fed gushes about an allegedly booming economy,…
The Year of “May”
We’re well into January, but 2014 demanded a bit of reflection before commenting. Was it a good year or a bad year? We still don’t know. We’re calling it the…
It “Eats Societies Alive”
“Oh, no!” you’ve probably been thinking. “The cost of filling my gas tank dropped again!” Falling prices are a good thing for the cash-strapped American consumer, whose income on-average has…
Patience Pays Off for Fed, Investors
The new word is “patient.” And it’s a humdinger. The Dow Jones Industrial Average soared more than 700 points over two days last week after Federal Reserve Board Chair Janet…