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Wednesday, February 13, 2013

Monetary

News                                                                                                                             
Market Watch | Fed's Plosser: Rate guidance can be improved
The Federal Reserve's current guidance to markets on how long it will keep rates near zero is a step in the right direction but needs to be improved, said Charles Plosser, the president of the Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank, on Tuesday.
Bloomberg | Fed’s Lacker Says Crisis in 2007 Worsened by Rescue Policy
Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond President Jeffrey Lacker said the financial system was weakened further as it began to fall into crisis in 2007 and 2008 by an “ambiguous rescue policy.”
Market Watch | U.S. import price index rises 0.6% in January
Prices paid for goods imported into the U.S. increased 0.6% in January, led by fuel, close to analysts' expectations of a 0.7% gain, the U.S. Department of Labor reported Wednesday.
WSJ | Fed Bank Chiefs Back Money-Fund Overhaul
The leaders of all 12 regional Federal Reserve banks are throwing their weight behind a push to overhaul the $2.7 trillion money-market industry, an unusual joint action sure to fuel debate about a group of funds whose troubles threatened the stability of the financial system during the 2008 credit crisis.

Blogs                                                                                                                             
Economist | The people versus the bankers
Most of what we call money is actually short-term debt created by banks when they make loans. This means that banks are the stewards of our savings and manage the payments system. As a result, they have a privileged place in our society: governments never deliberately choose to liquidate the banking system.