John A. Allison: Roots of the Financial Crisis
Since the start of the financial crisis in 2007, much of the air between New York and Washington D.C. has been used up trying to define what happened, how it happened, and who is to blame. One person saw the crisis firsthand as the Chairman and CEO of BB&T, one of the nation’s top financial-holding... Read the full story
The Fed’s Fiat Flood a Dud
The Fed is flooding world markets with excessive liquidity, but the turnover of money (velocity) has collapsed, indicating a frightening level of concern. Velocity today sits at 1.59, well below the average of 1.79 since 1959. Velocity is calculated by dividing nominal GDP by money supply as measured... Read the full story
Bernanke’s Clever Ruse
It’s official. The Bernanke Fed has gone mad. Less than 24 hours after the biggest stock market sell-off of the year (a scant 1.5% drop) Bernanke & Co. are out floating trial balloons on possible QE3 mechanics to remind investors that a third round of money printing is still on the table. The intention... Read the full story
Dr. Bernanke’s Scorched Earth Monetary Policy Claims another Victim
It seems the Fed’s perpetual zero percent interest rate policy is not only robbing retirees and responsible savers of income; it is also costing companies billions and putting the corporate pension system at risk. Thomas Black from Bloomberg writes: General Electric Co. (GE), Boeing Co. (BA) and... Read the full story
Durable Goods Give Back
Today the Census Bureau announced that durable goods orders in January fell by -4%, the most in three years. Timothy R. Homan writes in Businessweek, “The expiration at the end of 2011 of a tax incentive allowing full depreciation on equipment purchases may have prompted a slowdown in investment at... Read the full story
We Are All Subprime Now
Over the last 10 years (since year-end 2002), profligate spending in Washington has resulted in a staggering $6.9-trillion increase in debt held by the public. That’s $22,000 for every man, woman, and child in America. A family of four is looking at an $88,000 increase in their debt burden. How generous... Read the full story
Employment Picture Brightens: Is it Bullish for Stocks?
The Bureau of Labor Statistics released the monthly jobs report this morning. The headline numbers blew away expectations. Non-farm payroll employment increased by 243,000 in January compared to estimates of 140,000. The unemployment rate came in at 8.3%, 0.2% better than expectations. The big upside... Read the full story
The Dollar Game Is Rigged
You’re getting less than $0.20 on a 1971 dollar. You can see the decline in my chart. And based on the Fed’s rock-bottom interest-rate policy, there’s no reason to believe it’s getting any better. That’s why you want to study the Wall Street Journal op-ed by David Malpass. He writes: Wednesday’s... Read the full story
U.S. Manufacturing 20% More Expensive, Without Labor
A Risk-Free Income Generator
What if there were a way for you to own income-generating securities without having to earn the money to buy them? What if you were able to generate billions in profits from this “free” portfolio? That’s exactly what the Federal Reserve is doing, and it’s passing those profits along to the U.S.... Read the full story
