News
Market Watch | OECD inflation rate falls for fifth month
The annual rate of inflation across developed economies fell for the fifth straight month in July and to its lowest level since November 2010, a development that opens the way for leading central banks to shore up faltering growth through additional stimulus measures.
CNN Money | Jackson Hole paper calls for more potent tool than QE3
Just hours after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke seemed to make the case in favor of more large bond purchases, a Columbia University professor argued that the Fed has an even more potent tool in its arsenal.
Econ Comments & Analysis
Bloomberg | Ben Bernanke Takes Us on a Stroll Down Memory Lane
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke didn't unveil any new initiatives in his opening remarks to the annual Jackson Hole economic symposium today. Nor did he put the kibosh on future Fed actions to goose the economy and reduce unemployment.
CNN Money | Martin Feldstein: What worries me about QE
We don't have a clear idea of how far they would have to raise rates to deal with banks that have more than a trillion dollars of excess reserves deposited at the Fed. When the time comes, they may have to raise rates a lot, and at that time unemployment may be higher than it normally is when the Fed normally wants to raise rates -- that's because of this big amount of long-term unemployment.
Blogs
Bloomberg | The Federal Reserve as Central Planner
A revealing example of where we are going emerged last spring, admirably documented on the Fed's website. Using its bank-regulation authority, the Fed declared that the banks that had robo-signed foreclosure documents were guilty of "unsafe and unsound processes and practices"--though robo-signing has nothing to do with the banks taking too much risk.
WSJ | WSJ ANALYSIS: Fed Still Lukewarm About Cutting Reserve Rate
There was much ado in Jackson Hole, Wyo., this weekend about a 0.25% interest rate that the Federal Reserve pays to banks on money they deposit with the central bank.
Marginal Revolution | A short note on the gold standard
I do not favor a gold standard, nor do I for that matter favor price stability, nor do I think a gold standard brings short-run price stability. I think a gold standard today would be much worse than the 19th century gold standard, in part because commodity prices are currently more volatile and may be for some time.
Daily Capitalist | The Fed, QE 3, and the Worsening European Economic Crisis
While the market reaction Friday and many of the media headlines suggest that this is virtually a foregone conclusion, caution in assuming such makes sense to me. A much-ignored part of Ben Bernanke’s address at Jackson Hole two days ago, discussed below, offers support for an agnostic approach.
