By Peter D. Schiff Guest Columnist Throughout history, governments have always used crises to justify blatant power grabs. All too often, the "expanded government powers" that resulted from the moves remain in place – even after the crisis subsides. This tendency has come into sharp focus here in America recently. Congress signaled that it is […]
Category
Federal Reserve System
All Eyes Will be on the Fed as Investors Look for Signals on Both Inflation and Interest Rates
By William Patalon IIIExecutive EditorMoney Morning/The Money Map Report The U.S. Federal Reserve will be in the spotlight again this week – and not because of those speaking engagements that seem to help whipsaw investor emotions. Tomorrow (Tuesday) and Wednesday, central bank Chairman Ben S. Bernanke will meet with his fellow policymakers on the interest-rate […]
Fed Policymakers Look to Juggle Inflation, Stagnation
By Jennifer Yousfi Managing Editor The U.S. Federal Reserve faces a tough challenge as it kicks off a two-day policymaking meeting tomorrow (Tuesday): It probably needs to start raising interest rates to prop up the U.S. dollar and offset a major escalation in inflationary pressures; but the economy needs low interest rates if it's to […]
Dallas Fed President Lends Credibility to Money Morning’s Prediction That the Federal Reserve Will Soon be Boosting Interest Rates
By William Patalon III Executive Editor Money Morning/The Money Map Report Just one day after Money Morning predicted that the U.S. Federal Reserve would soon be forced to increase interest rates, Dallas Fed President Richard W. Fisher said he expected the central bank would raise interest rates should inflationary pressures start causing severe consumer pain. […]
Markets React Favorably to Fed Cut
By Jennifer YousfiManaging Editor The U.S. markets surged yesterday (Thursday) the day after the U.S. Federal Reserve came though with the broadly expected 25-basis point rate cut that brought the fed funds rate down to 2.0%. The blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average Index gained 189.87 points (1.48%), to trade at 13,010.00. The tech-laden Nasdaq Composite […]
The Fed's Dilemma: Rescue the Housing Market, or Feed the Poor?
By Martin Hutchinson Contributing Editor At their two-day meeting that starts today (Tuesday), U.S. Federal Reserve policymakers will have to grapple with a moral choice that is well beyond the pay grade of central bankers – choosing between the financial stability of U.S. homeowners and world hunger. That's not an exaggeration. Interest-rate policy normally only […]
Note to the Federal Government: Leave the Price-Setting to the Market
By Peter D. SchiffGuest Columnist Those unfamiliar with marketplace dynamics may not recognize how government activity has created price distortions across our economy. But when these "artificial" chains fail to restrain the market, the underlying forces become easier to see. Much as the easy credit mandated by the government propelled home prices to bubble levels, […]
Fed Will Grab Headlines This Week With "Last Hurrah" Interest-Rate Cut; Key GDP Stats Also Anticipated
By William Patalon III Executive Editor Money Morning/The Money Map Report U.S. Federal Reserve policymakers will likely cut its key interest rate to 2.0% from 2.25% this Wednesday, which would mark the seventh such move since the central bank launched its rate-reduction campaign in mid-September. But if the central bank does pare short-term interest rates, […]
Jim Rogers: More Pain for the Greenback, and the Failure of the Federal Reserve
By Keith Fitz-GeraldInvestment DirectorMoney Morning/The Money Map Report SINGAPORE – By bailing out Wall Street and applying "band-aids" to the economy, the U.S. Federal Reserve may well be causing its own downfall – even as it hastens the demise of the greenback as a viable global currency, investment guru Jim Rogers told Money Morning during […]
Is the Fed Fueling the Inflation Fire?
By Jennifer Yousfi Managing Editor With six rate cuts in the past seven months, the U.S. Federal Reserve has focused its efforts on a slowing economy, while placing inflationary worries on the back burner. But as Chairman Ben S. Bernanke and the rest of the Board of Governors move further down this path, some experts […]