Category: Central Banks
The analysis published under this category are as follows.
Saturday, August 27, 2011
Behind Closed Doors at the Fed: Ten Years of Research into America's Central Bank / Politics / Central Banks
By: EWI
During the past few years, The Federal Reserve has engaged in a "deliberate inflating policy."
This policy earned disfavor, both at home and abroad.
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Thursday, August 18, 2011
Don’t Swallow the FED’s $16 Trillion Suicide Pill / Politics / Central Banks
By: LewRockwell
Michael McKay writes: In case you missed it, on July 21st 2011 the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a 266 page partial audit of the Federal Reserve (FED).
Here is the punch line: The Federal Reserve secretly kept the Phony-Fiat-Money-System afloat by "lending" out $16 Trillion Dollars to various corporations and banks, many of which were foreign, non-U.S. entities like The Bank of Scotland, UBS (Switzerland), Deutche Bank (Germany) and Societe Generale SA (France) between December 1, 2007 through July 21, 2010 (read this as: Created-Out-Of-Thin-Air and had refused to tell us). The details are on page 133 which you can read here.
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Monday, August 15, 2011
It is not Enough to Tell the Fed to Target Nominal GDP - You Have to Tell it How / Economics / Central Banks
By: Paul_L_Kasriel
In the August 15 edition of the Financial Times, Clive Crook wrote an op-ed piece urging the Fed to target nominal GDP growth. This is not the worst Fed "mandate" that has been recommended. But it is not enough to recommend a mandate or a target to this Fed. You also have to explain to it how to maximize the probability of actually achieving its mandate. Targeting a fed funds rate won't do the trick, especially under current circumstances.
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Saturday, August 06, 2011
Currency Wars and Quantitative Easing / Interest-Rates / Central Banks
By: CentralBankNews
The past week in monetary policy saw 12 central banks reviewing monetary policy settings, with 2 expanding asset buying programs, and just 3 adjusting interest rate levels. Those that adjusted interest rates were: Pakistan -50bps to 13.50%, Uganda +100bps to 14.00%, and Turkey -50bps to 5.75%; Switzerland also adjusted its interest rate target range downward to halt gains in the Swiss franc. Meanwhile those that held rates unchanged were: Botswana 9.50%, Uzbekistan 12.00%, Australia 4.75%, Japan 0.10%, Romania 6.25%, Russia 8.25%, EU 1.50%, UK 0.50%, and the Czech Republic 0.75%.
Tuesday, August 02, 2011
Do you think Ben Bernanke is J.P. Morgan? / Politics / Central Banks
By: Fred_Sheehan
On July 13, 2011, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke was questioned by members of the U.S. House Financial Services Subcommittee on Domestic Monetary Policy.
Chairman (of the Committee) Ron Paul asked: "Do you think gold is money?"
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Wednesday, July 27, 2011
$8.4 Trillion Hidden Profit For The Federal Reserve / Politics / Central Banks
By: Submissions
Liberty writes: The public is aware that deficit spending is the government's ability to spend money that it does not have. The image projected is the government borrows from the public, or the Federal Reserve, and the money that can be spent is above and beyond the funds collected in the form of taxes and fees.
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Thursday, July 14, 2011
The Intellectual Legacy of the Federal Reserve / Politics / Central Banks
By: Aftab_Singh
Ron Paul and Ben Bernanke had an amusing exchange of words yesterday about whether or not gold is money. Needless to say, Ben answered in the negative and appealed to tradition during the conversation. Now, although I hesitantly agree with his conclusion (as in, strictly speaking, gold isn’t a widely used medium of exchange right now), I can scarcely agree with his modes of reasoning. Here, I consider the Federal Reserve’s intellectual legacy and outline a few possible reasons as to why central bankers generally fail to think and act prudently.
Thursday, July 14, 2011
Bernanke - Money for Nothing and Dollars For Free / Interest-Rates / Central Banks
By: Axel_Merk
Federal Reserve (Fed) Chairman Bernanke, in a verbal duel with Representative Ron Paul, provided insult to injury to hard money appreciating investors. When asked whether gold should be considered money, Bernanke replied: “no”; when further quizzed why central banks then hold gold reserves, Bernanke brushed the question off, suggesting gold is simply held because of tradition.
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Saturday, July 09, 2011
Central Banks Monetary Policy Week in Review - 9 July 2011 / Interest-Rates / Central Banks
By: CentralBankNews
The past week in monetary policy saw interest rate decisions from 14 central banks around the world, of which 7 made changes in their monetary policy settings. Those that increased interest rates were: Sweden +25bps to 2.00%, China +25bps to 6.56%, the EU +25bps to 1.50%, and Denmark +25bps to 1.55%. While those that cut rates included Vietnam, which cut its OMO rate -100bps to 14.00%, and Ghana -50bps to 12.50%.
Saturday, July 02, 2011
Global Interest Rate Movements: Half-Year Review / Interest-Rates / Central Banks
By: CentralBankNews
This article reviews the monetary policy interest rate activity of the world's central banks during the first half of 2011. The key takeaway is that monetary policy tightening has been the dominant game for most emerging market central banks in the first half of the year, however the majority of central banks are still in the no-change camp. Indeed of the 79 central banks that Central Bank News monitors, 33 made net increases to their interest rates, while 40 held their rates net unchanged, and only 6 made net reductions to their policy interest rates.
Sunday, June 26, 2011
Bernankenstein's Monster / Stock-Markets / Central Banks
By: PhilStockWorld
(Here's part 1: The Blinking Idiot & the Banking System.) Elliott: How should we invest in this environment - when we take into account the Fed’s huge interference in the markets?
Lee: Think like a criminal. Look, it’s a matter of knowing what the Fed’s next move is going to be, and knowing the investment implications. You have to stay with the trend until the Fed sends signals that it is going to reverse. We’re at that inflection point. The issue is how much front running will there be? You definitely have to be out of your longs by now. When support fails after having succeeded, succeeded, succeeded, and every other previous retracement has held, then suddenly one doesn’t, it’s a huge signal.
Ilene: If the Fed wants oil and metal to go down, and the dollar to go up, is that saying it wants the stock market to go down as collateral damage? If pattern continues, the stock market will go down with the commodities.
Sunday, June 26, 2011
Bernanke, The US Central Planner Is an Idiot / Politics / Central Banks
By: Gary_North
Ben Bernanke gave his second-ever press conference on June 22.
Before I offer my assessment, I think it is wise to make you aware of a long-forgotten film: a 1931 movie short by Robert Benchley, one of the supreme humorists of his era. Benchley came on-screen as an economist. He provided information on why the economy was about to turn around. (It wasn't.) The depression was over. (It wasn't.) The recovery was just around the corner. (It wasn't.) Then he offered the appropriate evidence. The people in the theaters fully understood. Once you see this video, so will you. Professor Bernanke will never seem quite the same.
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Saturday, June 25, 2011
Fed Benefits from Global Economic Fears / Interest-Rates / Central Banks
By: John_Browne
This week, in the second in a series of less-than-impressive press conferences, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke offered market observers little hope that any additional quantitative easing programs are on the horizon. The Chairman continues to cling to the position that the economy is improving (with the recent "soft patch" attributable to external forces) to the extent that additional Fed support will be unnecessary. Left unsaid was any guidance as to who the Chairman believes will buy the massive amounts of Treasury debt formerly swallowed up by the QE II program?Read full article... Read full article...
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
More Treachery at the Fed? / Interest-Rates / Central Banks
By: Mike_Whitney
No one expects the Fed to announce a rate-hike at the end of the today's FOMC meeting, but that doesn't mean there won't be a few surprises. The problem is that the recovery has stalled and the Fed can't decide whether we've just hit a "soft patch" or if it's something more serious. If it is more serious, then the Fed will need a contingency plan for kick-starting the economy. So, what's it going to be; another round of Quantitative Easing (QE), rate caps on short-term Treasuries or something else altogether? That's what the financial media will want to know, and only Fed chairman Ben Bernanke knows the answers.
Saturday, June 18, 2011
Emerging Market Central Banks Continue to Tighten Interest Rates / Interest-Rates / Central Banks
By: CentralBankNews
The past week in monetary policy saw a range of tightening measures announce by emerging market central banks. Of those that increased interest rates were: Mauritius +25bps to 5.50%, Chile +25bps to 5.25%, India +25bps to 7.50%, and Colombia +25bps to 4.25%. Meanwhile those that reviewed policy but held rates unchanged were: Japan 0.10%, Sri Lanka 7.00%, Morocco 3.25%, Iceland 4.25%, Philippines 4.50%, Switzerland 0.25%, and Botswana 9.50%. Aside from interest rates the People's Bank of China raised its required reserve ratio by another 50 basis points to an average 21.5%, likewise the Philippines central bank raised its reserve requirements by 100 basis points.
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Thursday, June 16, 2011
9 TRILLION Dollars Missing from Federal Reserve, Fed Inspector General Can't Explain / Politics / Central Banks
By: Videos
Rep. Alan Grayson asks the Federal Reserve Inspector General about the trillions of dollars lent or spent by the Federal Reserve and where it went, and the trillions of off balance sheet obligations. Inspector General Elizabeth Coleman responds that the IG does not know and is not tracking where this money is.
Thursday, June 09, 2011
The Soros Effect: The Market’s Clear Rejection of Authority / Politics / Central Banks
By: Dr_Jeff_Lewis
George Soros has broken central banks, built a billion dollar fortune, and awarded himself fans around the world who adore his no-nonsense speculative approach. While he was once a kingpin of the financial markets, he took a backseat years ago to step away from his Quantum fund, only to return to an audience that has long gone.
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Wednesday, June 08, 2011
Bernanke's Self-Serving Bold-Faced Lies / Politics / Central Banks
By: Mike_Shedlock
Inquiring minds are reading Bernanke's blatantly self-serving speech including some bold lies regarding the U.S. Economic Outlook.
I can condense Bernanke's speech down to a single paragraph. An interesting set of word cloud images follows this summation.
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Saturday, June 04, 2011
Emerging Market Central Banks Continue to Raise Interest Rates / Interest-Rates / Central Banks
By: CentralBankNews
The past week in central banking saw monetary policy announcements from 10 different central banks. Of those announcing interest rate decisions, the following central banks increased their main policy interest rates: Colombia +25bps to 4.00%, Belarus +200bps to 16.00%, Kenya +25bps to 6.25%, Jordan +25bps to 4.50%, and Thailand +3.00%.
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Wednesday, June 01, 2011
Central Banks Choice Between Hyperinflation or Great Depression II / Economics / Central Banks
By: Gary_North
Western Europe has invented two institutions that have taken over the world: the university and the central bank. Today, both are under fire as never before. At the same time, both are in their respective diver's seats. The greater the criticism, the better they do for themselves.
We are finally seeing articles on the bubble in higher education. It isn't a bubble. Government money still flows in by the hundreds of billions a year.
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