Monetary News Jan. 24 - 28

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News
FRIDAY
IMF's Lipsky Says `Never Say Never' on Another Euro-Area Bailout
International Monetary Fund First Deputy Managing Director John Lipsky said the organization may have to provide further financial aid to so-called peripheral European countries if the region’s debt crisis doesn’t ease.

THURSDAY
Commodities' Warnings for Stocks
Overheating in those fast-growing economies and the resulting inflation could result in a "serious blow" to the global economy, the International Monetary Fund warned Tuesday.
Fed Closes Ranks as Improving Economy Fails to Derail Asset-Purchase Plan
Federal Reserve officials closed ranks to signal that an improving economy won’t derail their plan to cut unemployment by pumping $600 billion into the financial system.

WEDNESDAY
Inflation? No problem ... if you avoid food
Great news! There is no inflation to speak of -- unless you fancy a burger, cup of Joe or candy bar every now and then.
Emerging economies caught in inflation dilemma
Emerging economies, seen as the big hope for global growth this year, are caught in a tricky dilemma: let inflation rip and hurt stability or raise rates and risk stalling their economies.
Fed likely to keep $600B bond-purchase plan intact
The Federal Reserve is all but certain Wednesday to maintain the pace of its Treasury bond-buying program because unemployment remains high and sinking home prices are eroding Americans' wealth.
Greece Default With Ireland Breaks Euro by 2016 in Global Poll
Most global investors predict at least one nation will leave the euro area within five years and that Greece and Ireland will default, sentiment that is intensifying pressure on policy makers to strengthen their response to the debt crisis.

TUESDAY
IMF: Instability Threatens Recovery
The uneven global recovery continues apace but sovereign debt and financial sector risks, particularly in Europe, could threaten global stability, the International Monetary Fund said Tuesday.
Fed Likely to Press On With QE Even as Business Lending Rises
The Federal Reserve will probably push forward with $600 billion in securities purchases even as the biggest jump in business loans in more than two years adds to signs the U.S. economy is gaining strength.
Treasury's Toxic Asset Funds Up 27%
Since the funds were established in 2009, they have used about $5.2 billion of Treasury's equity investment to buy toxic assets. As of the end of 2010, the funds have gained $1.1 billion to about $6.3 billion.
The 4 new voting members on Fed policy making panel
Four regional Federal Reserve Bank presidents are rotating onto the Fed's main policy making group this week for the first meeting of 2011. Two of the four have been critics of the Fed's $600 billion Treasury bond-buying program.

MONDAY
Global Price Fears Mount
As Food, Raw Materials Soar, Europe's Central Bank Head Warns on Inflation.
Euro Bears Retreating From Merkel Pledge as Strategists Draw Line at $1.30
Traders are starting to believe German Chancellor Angela Merkel when she says Europe’s biggest economy will do whatever it takes to save the region’s currency.
Super-Cycle Leaves No Economy Behind as Davos Shifts to Growth From Crisis
For only the third time since the Industrial Revolution, the world may be entering a long-term growth cycle that will lift all economies simultaneously, driving bond yields and commodity prices higher.
Dollar Drops Before Fed as Gain in Stocks Spurs Demand for Riskier Assets
The dollar declined against most of its major counterparts as a gain in stocks before this week’s meeting of Federal Reserve policy makers encouraged demand for higher-yielding assets.

Economist Comments
FRIDAY
The Week in Monetary Policy Analysis
Financial professionals with every perspective weighed in. Here, Minyanville offers a recap of this week's hottest debate.
Economic Policy Hasn't Changed; Prepare for Stagnation, Inflation
There is no believable evidence that bailouts or fiscal stimulus have done anything positive for the economy whatsoever.
Fed Continues Failed Monetary Policy
We are in the midst of this program that is failing to bring down US Treasury yields as intended.

THURSDAY
Much Left Unsaid by the FOMC
QE2 to complete its course, but impacts of $600 billion in bond buying remain to be seen.

WEDNESDAY
The Wrong Way to Double Exports
Ronald Reagan believed we could 'outproduce, outcompete and outsell anybody' without compromising the value of the dollar.
Inflation Is So Much Worse Than BLS Says
There are glaring errors in the Bureau of Labor Satistics' methods that render the official inflation measure hopelessly -- and dangerously -- inaccurate.
US Interest Rates Negatively Affecting Canada
Today would be a good time to stop exporting both inflation and an overvalued CAD to Canada.

MONDAY
Favorable Interest Rates and Inflationary Concerns to Support Gold
Signals for the precious metal are very much bullish in the long term.

Blogs
FRIDAY
Kein optimalen Währungsraum
Brian Blackstone reports on the hawkish sentiments emerging from European Central Bank officials as headline inflation creeps above 2%.
Rand and Ron Paul Introduce Twin Fed-Audit Bills
Sen. Rand Paul (R., Ky.) introduced U.S. Senate legislation Wednesday to audit the Federal Reserve while his father, long-time Fed critic Rep. Ron Paul (R., Texas), re-introduced similar legislation in the U.S. House.

THURSDAY
Secondary Sources: China and the Dollar, SOTU and Taxes, Law School
Martin Wolf looks at China’s relationship to the dollar.
Hayekian Credit Booms
As more money chases a stagnating amount of goods, the boom turns bust, when overconsumption leads to serious consumer price inflation and over-employment of resources (necessary because other resources are held in overinvested capital good industries) does not allow keeping up the production level.
John Taylor Advocates Narrowing Fed Mandate
Former U.S. Treasury Department undersecretary John Taylor on Wednesday called for overhauling the Federal Reserve’s dual mandate of ensuring stable prices and maximum employment, saying that the central bank should focus on prices.
Will the debt crisis increase European inflation?
As long as the European Central Bank (ECB) sells other assets, its purchase of government bonds won't cause inflation.
Parsing the Fed: How the Statement Changed
The Fed’s statement following the January meeting was little changed from the previous month as a united group decided to leave previously announced policy unchanged.
Euro Zone inflation: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly
With euro zone inflation above the ECB’s sub-2% target for the first time in over two years, and ECB officials sending hawkish signals of late, price pressures are being scrutinized more closely than usual in the euro bloc.
Feeling the Heat: Comparing Global Inflation
Consumer prices are moving unevenly across the world. Economic growth, supply and demand, currency values and a variety of other factors drive consumer prices up — inflation — or down — deflation.

TUESDAY
Survey Indicates Inflation Expectation Still Muted
U.S. households expect inflation to rise over the short term but remain contained over the longer run, shrugging off higher food and energy prices, in a positive sign for consumer spending patterns.
$1 Trillion to Flow Into Emerging Nations in 2011
Investment and cash flows to emerging nations will surge to nearly $1 trillion dollars this year, adding pressure to developing economies already overheating.

MONDAY
Secondary Sources: Mortgage Rates, Current Accounts, China’s Foreign Reserves
A roundup of economic news from around the Web.
Gold is to China as paper currency is to US
Gold buying is up in China. Paper currency is on the rise in the United States because of the Federal Reserve's quantitative easing.

Reports
None.