Category: Central Banks
The analysis published under this category are as follows.
Monday, March 07, 2011
Stunning Lack of Economic Understanding at the Fed / Politics / Central Banks
By: Peter_Schiff
As the world confronts one of the most critical periods of economic upheaval that it has ever seen, it is clear that our most influential economic stewards have absolutely no idea what they are doing. But, like kids with a new chemistry set, they are nevertheless unwilling to let that stand in the way of their experimental fun. As they pour an ever-growing number of volatile ingredients into their test tubes, we can either hope that they magically stumble on the secret formula to cure the world's ills, or more pragmatically, we can try to prepare for the explosion that is likely to result.
Wednesday, March 02, 2011
Yellen and Gadhafi - Studies in Paranoia / Politics / Central Banks
By: Fred_Sheehan
The continued existence of the Federal Reserve System is both the greatest threat to national solvency and an insult to the American people.
On February 25, 2011, Federal Reserve Vice Chair Janet L. Yellen explored new depths of dishonor. (For an earlier depth, see: Liquidate the Fed.) At a University of Chicago Business School forum, the life-long academic claimed: "I'll highlight the role of central bank communications in bolstering the effectiveness of unconventional monetary policy." [All Yellen statements are in italics.] The title of Yellen's speech was: "Unconventional Monetary Policy and Central Bank Communications." It was dishonest from beginning to end.
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Wednesday, March 02, 2011
A No-win Situation for the Fed / Interest-Rates / Central Banks
By: Clif_Droke
A situation is developing the global markets which threatens to undo the recovery of the past two years. The price spikes in fuel and especially agriculture prices is the Achilles’ heel of the recovery and may well serve as its death knell before the year is through. Read full article... Read full article...
Monday, February 21, 2011
Fed New Accounting Change Means its Impossible for the Fed to go Bankrupt! / Politics / Central Banks
By: Robert_Murphy
Back in early January, the Federal Reserve made an obscure announcement in its weekly report. It appeared to be an inconsequential accounting change in the treatment of earnings, and was sold as a step toward greater transparency.
The change was buried in such jargon that it took weeks for the financial bloggers to fully digest what had happened — the new move made it effectively impossible for the Fed to go bankrupt! In this article I'll explain the rule change and speculate on the Fed's motives.
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Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Deception at the Fed / Politics / Central Banks
By: Dr_Ron_Paul
For the past three decades, the Federal Reserve has been given a dual mandate: keeping prices stable and maximizing employment. This policy relies not only on the fatal conceit of believing in the wisdom of supposed experts, but also on numerical chicanery.
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Thursday, February 10, 2011
The Two Faces of Ben Bernanke / Politics / Central Banks
By: Peter_Schiff
Based on his recent public comments, Fed Chairman Bernanke seems determined to give the U.S. dollar the reputation of Egypt's Hosni Mubarak: an unwanted relic of the past that everyone agrees must go, but stubbornly clings to a privileged position. The dollar is currently the world's ruling currency, but, as with Mubarak, I believe that growing public discontent will spur regime change quicker than most pundits expect.Read full article... Read full article...
Thursday, February 10, 2011
How the Fed Fuels Unemployment / Politics / Central Banks
By: Thomas_J_DiLorenzo
Testimony of Dr. Thomas DiLorenzoProfessor of Economics, Loyola University Maryland
Committee on Financial Services, Subcommittee on Domestic Monetary Policy and Technology
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
2128 Rayburn House Office Building
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Thursday, February 10, 2011
Fed Dual Mandates, the Price of Gold, and Tinfoil Hats / Interest-Rates / Central Banks
By: Mike_Shedlock
As noted in Republicans Attack Dual Mandate, a group of Republicans want to remove the Fed’s employment mandate and have the Fed focus solely on keeping prices stable.
This got me thinking once again about dual or triple mandates, and also the price of gold.
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Wednesday, February 09, 2011
Lockhart Tries To Justify The Fed’s Love of Printing Money / Politics / Central Banks
By: Brady_Willett
Following up on Bernanke’s ‘don’t blame me’ shtick last week, Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta president Dennis Lockhart had this to say yesterday:
“The Fed, like every other central bank, is powerless to prevent fluctuations in the cost of living and increases of individual prices. We do not produce oil. Nor do we grow food or provide health care. We cannot prevent the next oil shock, or drought, or a strike somewhere —events that cause prices of certain goods to rise and change your cost of living.”
Wednesday, February 09, 2011
Uncle Ben Wants You! - To Buy Stocks / Politics / Central Banks
By: Fred_Sheehan
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke reviewed his Quantitative Easing, Second Inning (QE2) at the National Press Club on Thursday, February 3, 2011. His conclusion: "The economic recovery that began in the middle of 2009 appears to have strengthened in recent months..."
Tuesday, February 01, 2011
The Fed and Job Creation / Economics / Central Banks
By: Dr_Ron_Paul
Unemployment continues to plague our economy. In spite of constant claims that we have just turned the corner into recovery, the jobs reports remain grim with no real signs of improvement. While Keynesian economists and big government apologists scratch their heads about persistent unemployment in spite of unprecedented government "investment" in the economy, free market economists understand the problem perfectly well. In short, they understand that we are looking to the Federal Reserve to solve an unemployment crisis that the Fed itself largely created.
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Thursday, January 27, 2011
What Most People Don't Realize About The Fed's Superpowers / Interest-Rates / Central Banks
By: EWI
Since its creation in 1913, the primary intended role of the U.S. Federal Reserve Bank has been that of protector. In theory, the central bank was bestowed with the power to shape monetary policy in a way that would keep both booms and busts in check. The two main tools at its disposal -- interest rates and money creation -- would provide a "ceiling of normalcy" above expansions AND a "net of safety" below contractions.
Monday, January 24, 2011
Fed Accounting Rule Changes to Mask Losses / Interest-Rates / Central Banks
By: Mike_Shedlock
Many people have taken notice of changes slipped into the Fed's balance sheet reporting rules that will allegedly shield the Fed from devastating losses. Please consider Accounting Tweak Could Save Fed From Losses.
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Greenspan Confirms the Fed's Highly Leveraged Fix / Politics / Central Banks
By: Fred_Sheehan
On January 7, 2011, Kelly Evans of the Wall Street Journal interviewed former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan. He rooted for the stock market.
Greenspan's circular logic was unenlightening: "Stocks are cheap if earnings are to continue higher." Taken as a whole, this does not mean much, akin to prophesizing: "The Red Sox will win if they score more runs than the Tigers." Greenspan's successful impoverishment of the American people often hinged on the suppression of his dependent clauses: "Stocks are cheap," was all we needed to know.
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Dallas Fed President Attacks Ron Paul / Politics / Central Banks
By: Gary_North
Those lawmakers who advocate "Ending the Fed" might better turn their considerable talents toward ending the fiscal debacle that has for too long run amuck within their own house. The Fed does not create government debt; fiscal authorities do. ~ Richard Fisher (Jan. 12, 2011)
When the president of any regional Federal Reserve Bank stands in front of a bunch of Harvard University graduates to tell them about how the economic mess is not really the FED's fault, you know what's coming. It came.
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Friday, January 14, 2011
Liquidate the Fed / Politics / Central Banks
By: Fred_Sheehan
"I would also like to note that the same research paper [produced by the Federal Reserve staff] analyzed the macroeconomic effects of the FOMC's full program of securities purchases ["Quantitative Easing," usually called, by non-economists, "printing money"], including the first round of purchases that was initiated in late 2008 and early 2009, the modification of the reinvestment policy that was announced last August, and the second round of purchases that was initiated in November.
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Thursday, January 13, 2011
Understanding the Federal Reserve Bank / Interest-Rates / Central Banks
By: EWI
Despite so much focus on the policies of the Fed, its operations remain somewhat of a mystery to most investors -- in no smaller measure, due to their complexity.
So, we put together a free resource for our Club EWI members: a 35-page report that explains the Fed, its goals and, very importantly, its limitations in layman's terms.
Thursday, January 06, 2011
Life without the Fed: The Suffolk System / Interest-Rates / Central Banks
By: MISES
CJ Maloney writes: Suppose for a moment that Republican Congressman Ron Paul's fondest wish came true, and the Federal Reserve Bank was not only audited but closed down. As far-fetched as such a notion may seem, it would not be the first time in our nation's history that a central bank has been shuttered. For all the Fed's imposing grandeur, Ben Bernanke is running our third (albeit longest-running) try at a central bank. This country has lived without a central bank before and, if given the chance, could do so again. Most every American (led by Paul Krugman), though, would be horrified at the thought.
Wednesday, January 05, 2011
How the Fed Could Become Insolvent / Interest-Rates / Central Banks
By: Casey_Research
Terry Coxon, Editor, The Casey Report writes: You've seen the proof in real time. Once-dominant industrial companies, e.g., General Motors, can run out of money. The biggest banks, e.g., Bank of America, can run out of money. Even sovereign governments, e.g., Greece, can run out of money. Yes, all those organizations are still limping along, but only after being rescued by other giant institutions, such as the U.S. government, the less unhealthy European governments, the European Central Bank, and the International Monetary Fund.
Thursday, December 30, 2010
The Federal Reserve: Stupid Bank Robbers or Robber “Hood” Barons: A Psychohistory Analysis / Politics / Central Banks
By: Katherine_Smith
The Federal Reserve (or “Fed”) is a “hot topic” on the Internet. However, it is my belief that I am the only one, who writes: “The Federal Reserve isn’t evil because they print our money and make us (the U.S. Taxpayers) pay interest on it. They are evil because, until October 2008, the Fed gave us a no-limit credit card that we used to buy houses, cars, RVs, TVs and DVDs—the “stuff” which, according to the GEO4, a massive United Nations Report, put the planet at the unknown points of no return.” [1] Read full article... Read full article...