News
Fiscal Times | Rising Food and Gas Costs Push Up Consumer Prices
The Consumer Price Index increased 0.4 percent in April, the Labor Department said. In the past 12 months, prices have risen 3.2 percent. That's the biggest 12-month gain since October 2008.
Market Watch | Treasurys gain after U.S. inflation report
Treasury prices rose on Friday, pushing yields lower, after a U.S. report showed consumer prices rose last month as expected, relieving some worries about the impact of rising energy prices on the broader market.
Econ Comments
Barron's | Anticipating the Removal of the Punch Bowl
Commodities, stocks slide again ahead of the impending end of QE2.
Bloomberg | Japan’s Most Important Banker Shirakawa Sees Only Bubbles in Extra Easing
With his nation’s economy contracting under disaster damage of as much as 25 trillion yen ($310 billion), Bank of Japan Governor Masaaki Shirakawa is signaling that his biggest worry is inflation.
Minyanville | Large Bank Rules Coming: Bernanke
According to Bernanke's prepared remarks, the Fed will propose a new package of rules addressing liquidity requirements, single-counterparty credit limits, stress test processes, how to formally handle future failures of too-big-too fail institutions, and the adoption of bank "living wills".
Minyanville | The Failure of Fed Policy: Why Growth Is Dead
A rising stock market, low inflation expectations, and lots and lots of cheap credit for even the riskiest companies. Too bad it's all an illusion.
Blogs
The Economist: Free exchange | Conservatives chasing bad ideas
Views on the efficacy of countercyclical fiscal policy obviously differ, though prior to the election of Barack Obama Republican legislators had no compunction about voting for stimulus packages (though tax cuts were obviously favoured). The turn against monetary policy is a disturbing and potentially quite dangerous development. Once upon a time, Milton Friedman—a man who basically blamed the Depression on tight money—was the leading economic intellectual of the conservative movement. Now top GOP members can't stop talking about the importance of "hard money" for recovery. Everyone from Rand Paul to Tim Pawlenty to Paul Ryan is on the bandwagon.
