Category: US Federal Reserve Bank
The analysis published under this category are as follows.
Friday, June 05, 2015
Bernanke is Still Bubble Blind / Interest-Rates / US Federal Reserve Bank
By: Michael_Pento
Even though the former Chairman of the Federal Reserve is now getting paid privately for his economic and market prognostications, he is still unable to identify or acknowledge the monumental bubbles that central banks have engineered. Mr. Bernanke, who was recently interviewed in Korea, tried to assure investors that rate hikes (whenever they begin) would be good news for the U.S. economy. He was also very "optimistic" there would not be a hard landing in China. And, not surprisingly, the man who is now gainfully employed at the Brookings Institution, Pimco and hedge fund Citadel, is also "encouraged" by Japanese Premier Shinzo Abe's growth strategy. This is despite the fact that the thrust of Abenomics has been to depreciate the value of the Yen by 35 percent in the past two and a half years.
Read full article... Read full article...
Thursday, May 07, 2015
U.S. Fed Embarrassment of Transparency / Interest-Rates / US Federal Reserve Bank
By: Peter_Schiff
Over the past decade or so, "transparency" has become one of the buzzwords that has guided the Federal Reserve's culture. The word was meant to convey the belief that central banking was best done for all to see in the full light of day, not in the murky back rooms of Washington and New York. The Fed seems to be on a mission to prove that its operations are benevolent, fair, predictable, and equitable. Part of that transparency movement took shape in 2007 when the Fed began publicizing its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) forecasts, which previously (to the frustration of investors) had been kept under wraps. Most of the Fed's policy moves are tied to how strong, or how weak, it believes the economy will be in the coming year. As a result, its GDP forecast is perhaps the single most important estimate it make.
Tuesday, May 05, 2015
The U.S. Fed Needs Your Help / Interest-Rates / US Federal Reserve Bank
By: Harry_Dent
Rodney Johnson writes: The Fed needs your help. This stately body of academics has worked for years to rejuvenate the U.S. economy, but to no avail.
You can’t say they’ve been lazy in their efforts. When their first quantitative easing (QE) program failed to create a bounce back in housing, they started up another one, QE2. When that failed they brought in QELite, followed by Operation Twist.
Read full article... Read full article...
Tuesday, April 28, 2015
Thoughts from the Frontline: The Third and Final Transformation of Monetary Policy / Interest-Rates / US Federal Reserve Bank
By: John_Mauldin
The law of unintended consequences is becoming ever more prominent in the economic sphere, as the world becomes exponentially more complex with every passing year. Just as a network grows in complexity and value as the number of connections in that network grows, the global economy becomes more complex, interesting, and hard to manage as the number of individuals, businesses, governmental bodies, and other institutions swells, all of them interconnected by contracts and security instruments, as well as by financial and information flows.
Wednesday, April 01, 2015
Bernanke Double Tap / Interest-Rates / US Federal Reserve Bank
By: Brady_Willett
The promotion of 'risk taking' during Bernanke's tenure was, without question, done at the immediate expense of traditional 'savings'. Deal with it Bernanke.
Former Fed Chairman, Ben Bernanke, began his new 'blog' yesterday with a dandy entitled 'Why Are Interest Rates So Low?' Given that only those with a financial acumen would read a blog from Bernanke, the silliness offered was remarkable. Nevertheless, here goes:
Read full article... Read full article...
Monday, March 30, 2015
Why Is the Fed Punishing My Parents? / Politics / US Federal Reserve Bank
By: MISES
Shawn Ritenour writes: In September 1993, President Bill Clinton reassured his radio audience that “if you work hard and play by the rules, you’ll be rewarded with a good life for yourself and a better chance for your children.” Picking up that theme over eighteen years later, President Barack Obama affirmed that “Americans who work hard and play by the rules every day deserve a government and a financial system that does the same.” The trouble is neither the government nor the financial system backed by the Federal Reserve rewards people like my parents, who have worked hard and played by the rules their entire lives, only to have their savings wither away.
Read full article... Read full article...
Friday, March 27, 2015
Atlanta Fed President's Dilemma / Interest-Rates / US Federal Reserve Bank
By: Dan_Norcini
'tis the week to hear from the various Fed governors once again.
Today it is Atlanta Fed president Dennis Lockhart.
I am finding his comments rather unsettling after reading one part of them.
Read full article... Read full article...
Tuesday, March 24, 2015
Janet Yellen Give'em the Old Razzle Dazzle / Interest-Rates / US Federal Reserve Bank
By: Peter_Schiff
Janet Yellen channels Billy Flynn? Last week the Fed Chairwoman treated us to a master class of rhetorical misdirection which produced some memorable examples of doublespeak, including the soon to be classic "Just because we removed the word 'patient' does not mean we're going to be 'impatient."' But perhaps more surprising than her new heights of verbal dexterity was the market's euphoria at being so blatantly manipulated. Never has the financial world enjoyed a lie so thoroughly.
Monday, March 23, 2015
Yellen Runs Out Of Patience, But Not Excuses / Interest-Rates / US Federal Reserve Bank
By: Michael_Pento
The Fed removed the word Patience from its statement made following the FOMC meeting that concluded on Wednesday. But, taking out that one word proved to be mostly irrelevant. The removal of the patient language was more than offset by the Fed's lowering of its GDP growth estimates and its projection for when and how high it will raise rates based on its previously incorrect assessments of inflation and growth. Ms. Yellen said in the FOMC press conference that removing "Patient" did not mean she would become impatient with raising rates. It is clear that the dollar's strength and the cascading economic data reported since the start of 2015 caused the Fed to push out its timing for its first rate hike and the overall level for which it will finally reach equilibrium.
Read full article... Read full article...
Sunday, March 22, 2015
FED Guidance Like Flying in Bermuda Triangle / Stock-Markets / US Federal Reserve Bank
By: Brad_Gudgeon
Last week, I thought from what I was reading on my volume indicators, (showing that money was leaving the S&P 500) that the market would fall on the FOMC news Wednesday. WRONG! Here I am flying in the Bermuda Triangle!
A few weeks ago, I related how last year was so difficult trading the market for me. The normal 10,20,30, 40 week cycle lows are not acting like they used to. I had surmised that the normal 20 week (100 trading day 15-16%) low would not be the dominant low, but that it would likely come in April instead. March 11 proved to be the 100 trading day low and we fell less than 4% top to bottom! But, because of volume indicators like OBV, Money Flow and Chaiken Money Flow that are showing net money outflows (I'll elaborate on these more next week), I thought this time might be different. WRONG!
Read full article... Read full article...
Tuesday, March 17, 2015
The Fed Will Likely Remove 'Patient' from its Statement, But Not from its Actions / Interest-Rates / US Federal Reserve Bank
By: Ashraf_Laidi
Although oil prices rallied more than 20% following the January Fed decision, their swift decline to fresh six-year lows raises questions about whether the Fed will underestimate threat of deflation as it did with GDP growth over the last three years. A June rate hike would be a policy mistake, especially as the US dollar index is heading for its biggest quarterly gain since Q4 1992. Adding Q3 & Q4, the USD index is up 23%. And yields remain muted as bond traders do not buy into a summer rate hike.
Monday, March 09, 2015
Abolish; Not “Audit the Fed” / Politics / US Federal Reserve Bank
By: Submissions
Antonius Aquinas writes: In recent remarks to the Senate Banking Committee, Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen was her typical evasive and non committal self when the topic of interest rate hikes were broached. When the subject of potential oversight of the Fed came up, however, Ms. Yellen became quite forthright in her response.
When asked about a bill introduced by Kentucky Senator Rand Paul to “Audit the Fed,” Ms. Yellen declared: “I want to be completely clear: I strongly oppose ‘Audit the Fed.'”* Ms. Yellen defended her position on the grounds, which have been given by every previous Fed Chairman, that oversight would lead to politicized monetary decision making thus compromising the central bank’s “independence.”
Read full article... Read full article...
Monday, March 09, 2015
Don't Be Fooled by The Federal Reserve's Anti-Audit Propaganda / Politics / US Federal Reserve Bank
By: Dr_Ron_Paul
In recent weeks, the Federal Reserve and its apologists in Congress and the media have launched numerous attacks on the Audit the Fed legislation. These attacks amount to nothing more than distortions about the effects and intent of the audit bill.
Fed apologists continue to claim that the Audit the Fed bill will somehow limit the Federal Reserve's independence. Yet neither Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen nor any other opponent of the audit bill has ever been able to identify any provision of the bill giving Congress power to dictate monetary policy. The only way this argument makes sense is if the simple act of increasing transparency somehow infringes on the Fed's independence.
Read full article... Read full article...
Sunday, March 01, 2015
Senate Republicans Bungle Their Interrogation of Janet Yellen / Politics / US Federal Reserve Bank
By: MISES
Brendan Brown writes: In terms of theatrical impact, the first performance of the Republican majority in the Senate responding to semi-annual testimony from Fed Chair Yellen was a dud. That is bad news for US monetary reform.
The root cause of the theatrical failure is that a winning strategy for monetary revolution has failed to emerge from the Republican ranks. Instead we hear the old tired messages about “auditing the Fed,” “changing the structure of the FOMC,” and adopting a neo-Keynesian rate-fixing “rule.”
Read full article... Read full article...
Friday, February 27, 2015
The Fed’s History of Assassination / Politics / US Federal Reserve Bank
By: Money_Morning
Shah Gilani writes: The Federal Reserve System has a very dark history.
I’m talking about a history of murder.
Maybe you didn’t know, but there’s a theory that the Fed ordered John F. Kennedy’s assassination.
Read full article... Read full article...
Thursday, February 26, 2015
"Audit the Fed"? We've Already Done That (Well, Kind of) / Politics / US Federal Reserve Bank
By: EWI
Our conclusion: The Fed is not in control of the economy -- here's why
If there's one thing the Federal Reserve Board of the United States is not known for, it's assertive language. After all the obfuscation and verbal sidestepping, Fed speak is usually as easy to comprehend as Marlon Brando's Godfather character Don "Mumbles" Corleone.
Read full article... Read full article...
Wednesday, February 25, 2015
What To Do While Waiting to End the Fed / Politics / US Federal Reserve Bank
By: MISES
John P. Cochran writes: There is a sliver of good news on the central banking front. Given the Fed’s poor performance before and after the 2007–08 financial crisis and Great Recession, and its now recognized 100 year history of failure, at least some members of Congress, even without Ron Paul, are now willing to consider major reform. Many libertarians who recognize that the correct long-run reform is to “End the Fed” — or essentially eliminate central banking (see here or here) — have focused most on the Audit the Fed Bill. On the other hand, non-Austrian economists have been more focused on the Federal Reserve Accountability and Transparency Act and its aimed reform: a rules based policy rather than current Fed discretionary policy which is counter-productive, if not destructive of prosperity.
Tuesday, February 24, 2015
Bird Doo; Yellen Goes to Congress / Stock-Markets / US Federal Reserve Bank
By: Gary_Tanashian
The best one by far is the un-photoshopped Loretta Mester in all her natural hawkish glory. Note the piercing eyes, the aerodynamic features and the focused intensity. Also I must say, at 56 she has a youthful dynamism about her. If she were Fed chief and told me to jump I’d ask ‘how high?’… or if she told me to print I’d ask ‘how much?’
Monday, January 19, 2015
If The Fed Has Nothing to Hide, It Has Nothing to Fear / Politics / US Federal Reserve Bank
By: Dr_Ron_Paul
Since the creation of the Federal Reserve in 1913, the dollar has lost over 97 percent of its purchasing power, the US economy has been subjected to a series of painful Federal Reserve-created recessions and depressions, and government has grown to dangerous levels thanks to the Fed's policy of monetizing the debt. Yet the Federal Reserve still operates under a congressionally-created shroud of secrecy.
No wonder almost 75 percent of the American public supports legislation to audit the Federal Reserve.
Read full article... Read full article...
Wednesday, January 14, 2015
The Fed Reality Trumps Rhetoric / Economics / US Federal Reserve Bank
By: MISES
Shawn Ritenour writes: Throughout the existence of the Fed, its officers and intellectual supporters understandably asserted that the government’s movement toward central banking was a most beneficial evolution. In a 1948 issue of The Federal Reserve Bulletin, for example, Fed Chairman Thomas B. McCabe asserted that money production could not manage itself, so we need a central bank such as the Fed that acts for the public interest. Nearly three decades later, the venerable Arthur Burns claimed that the basic assets of the Fed are concern for the general welfare, moral integrity, respect for tested knowledge, and independence of thought.