News
Fiscal Times | Gas, Food Prices Double-Whammy for Rural Families
With food prices up nearly 4 percent last month — the biggest leap in 36 years — and the national average for a gallon of gas at a whopping $3.57, this economic double-whammy is stretching family budgets to the breaking point.
CNN: Money | Companies raise prices on food, shoes, diapers
Look out! From Huggies diapers to Nike shoes, Americans are about to get less bang for their buck on some of the biggest brands. The increases are necessary to offset inflationary pressure from higher raw material and energy costs.
Econ Comments
Minyanville | Worldwide Inflation Is Hitting Home
While we can't get price inflation off the ground here in the US, the world's inflation is creeping into our prices, especially food and oil.
Fiscal Times | Inflation Ahead? The Fed May Raise Interest Rates
Over the past three months, consumer prices excluding energy and food have risen 1.8 percent, measured at an annual rate, suggesting further acceleration in the 12-month pace of core inflation this spring.
Minyanville | Endgame for the US Dollar
In the next few months the currency will get hammered and its viability will be questioned. Now is the time for investors to buy more gold, silver, and mining stocks.
Politico | Better ways to reform the Federal Reserve
The new House Republican majority has focused the crosshairs of reform on the Federal Reserve. The Fed, has been controversial since its creation in 1913. But its actiosn during the financial crisis and its recent $600 billion bond-buying program, have triggered a level of political scrutiny not seen since President Andrew Jackson abolished the Second Bank of the United States in 1832.
Minyanville What the End of QE2 Means for Mr. Market
Strategists debate how the end of QE2 will impact the stock market.
Blogs
Econlog | Kling, Krugman, and Krugman on Liquidity Traps
Here are the ways that an economy can be at zero nominal interest rates and have high unemployment.
Marginal Revolution | The subtleties of the liquidity traps
One of the older definitions of the liquidity trap is that excess cash balances get absorbed into hoards. That clearly isn’t going on today because sales are booming. The unwillingness of people with liquid assets to invest is another common aspect of the traditional definition; that’s not the case today either, even though we might wish investment were stronger.
Cato@Liberty | End the Fed: More than Just a Bumper Sticker Slogan?
Notwithstanding its poor performance, the Federal Reserve seems to get more power over time. But rather than rewarding the central bank for debasing the currency and causing instability, perhaps it's time to contemplate alternatives.
The American | Repeating Europe’s Charade?
There is every indication that markets will soon force Portugal to follow Greece and Ireland and request a bailout from the International Monetary Fund.
The Economist: Free Exchange | Is the Treasury undermining QE?
Quantitative easing suffers its fair share of controversy, but not over this aspect: whether you like it or not, it’s the central bank’s job and no one else’s. I’ve just read a paper that suggests otherwise: done right, the Treasury could achieve the same thing through debt-management policy
WSJ: Real Time Economics | A Look Inside the Fed’s Balance Sheet
Assets on the Fed’s balance sheet expanded to around $2.566 trillion in the latest week from $2.403 trillion at the end of 2010. Nearly all the additions this year have come from new Treasury purchases — some $164 billion in the past three months.
