For the past two or more years the question of whether or not (and when) the Fed might “raise interest rates” has been a constant feature in the news. With the FOMC, the Fed's rate setting body, meeting next week, this is especially true at the moment….
The FOMC decided last week against raising interest rates given its concerns about the global economy and financial conditions. While these concerns are reasonable, the FOMC’s decision highlights a growing problem that has increasingly plagued the Fed since the crisis erupted: its incredibly ad-hoc approach to monetary policy….
That's more-or-less the question that Bankrate.com asked Dean Baker, co-founder of the Center for Economic and Policy Research, and me after last month's FOMC press release. Dean said yep. I said…uh, not really. Our full answers appeared recently in the online publication's "Wealth of Opinions" column. There's…
The latest Commerce Department report and FOMC press release have, as usual, led to a flood of commentary concerning the various economic indicators that the Fed committee must have mulled over in reaching its decision to put off somewhat longer its plan to start selling off assets it…
This morning over breakfast at the neighborhood bakery, I read a very nice article in the New York Times concerning the "unconventional" views of Kansas City Fed President Thomas Hoenig–views that have made Hoenig my own favorite Fed insider for some years now. Hoenig's beliefs, as summarized…