News
Bloomberg | Fed May Buy $300 Billion in Treasuries After QE2
The Federal Reserve will remain the biggest buyer of Treasuries, even after the second round of quantitative easing ends this week, as the central bank uses its $2.86 trillion balance sheet to keep interest rates low.
Fiscal Times | Core Inflation Rises--Interest Rates May Follow
The inflation outlook is taking a new twist. So far the story has been dominated by surging prices for gasoline and food. Not to worry, many economists said, core inflation—which excludes the volatile energy and food sectors—was tame. Not anymore. Now core inflation is picking up, adding new pressure on household budgets and complicating the Federal Reserve’s efforts to balance its twin goals of containing inflation and reducing unemployment.
Bloomberg | Ron Paul’s Anti-Fed Message Gains Respect
Although political analysts give the elder Paul little chance of emerging as President Barack Obama’s challenger, his limited-government goals echo through the Tea Party movement, the cadre of activists that helped Republicans gain control of the House in the 2010 election.
Econ Comments
Barron's | Is Bernanke Playing Politics?
The supposedly party-neutral Fed chief once again parrots the Democratic line on the deficit.
Blogs
Free Banking | The Problem is Central Banking not Fractional Reserve Banking
In some free-market circles fractional reserve banking (FRB) is blamed for everything from business cycles to bad breath. Defenders are seen as apologists for inflation and fraud. Thankfully these views remain a minority because they are gravely mistaken. As I, and other Austrian monetary theorists, such as George Selgin and Larry White, have argued, there’s nothing wrong with FRB that getting rid of a central bank can’t cure. Fractional reserve banking works just fine in a free market.
