News
CNN Money | Obama: Bernanke has 'stayed a lot longer' than expected
President Obama hinted Monday that he will not reappoint Ben Bernanke to a third term as Federal Reserve chairman.
Bloomberg | Consumer Prices in U.S. Increased Less Than Forecast in May
The cost of living in the U.S. rose less than forecast in May, restrained by the first drop in food prices in almost four years and signaling inflation remains under control.
Econ Comments & Analysis
Washington Post | Crossed signals over Fed’s stimulus efforts
The Federal Reserve’s new communication strategy was supposed to make it easier to decipher the intentions of the famously secretive institution.
WSJ | The SEC Gets Money-Fund Reform Half Right
The Securities and Exchange Commission recently proposed two new rules to help prevent sudden redemptions of money-market shares by investors from wreaking havoc on the financial system. The first proposal, requiring a "floating NAV" (net asset value), deserves support because it is limited to the most risky type of money-market funds: those held mainly by fast-moving institutions and invested largely in prime commercial paper.
The Telegraph | Quantitative easing may be most powerful when it ends
There could be all kinds of ways quantitative easing (QE) has an effect on the wider economy. But one of the most important may be most effective precisely at the moment everyone becomes confident QE is ending.
Blogs
WSJ | Watch What Fed Says, Not What It Does
On the action front, economists expect very little. The central bank’s rate setting Federal Open Market Committee is widely expected to press forward with its $85 billion per month in Treasury and mortgage bond buying, as it seeks to provide stimulus to the economy. Most forecasters still think it will be a few more months, at minimum, before Fed officials have enough confidence in the economy to change the scope of that program.
Economist | The ECB is not breaching the law
Life is full of ironies. In the great financial crisis, all the major central banks of the western world had to intervene heavily in markets to prevent an even bigger calamity. But the one central bank which allowed the crisis to temporarily spiral out of control by doing far too little for far too long now finds itself in court—for allegedly doing too much.
