Mixed Signals Surround the Steady Creep Higher In Interest Rates

(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on August 7, 2013. Click here to read the entire piece.) Tuesday’s trading (August 6, 2013) brought out the taper tantrum jitters again. Officials from the Federal Reserve are once again reminding financial markets about the potential for September to bring the … Read more

The Federal Reserve May Choose to Ignore the Inflation Expectations of Households

First, Bernanke made it clear he thinks gold is not a good indicator of inflation expectations. Now, the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco has produced research that could convince the Fed to insulate itself from the inflation expectations of average Americans in “Household Inflation Expectations and the Price of Oil: It’s Déjà Vu All … Read more

A Danger of Inflation: The Misallocation of Resources on the Way to Sustained Price Increases

(Adapted from original article in Inflation Watch) In January of this year, Professor Russ Roberts of George Mason University invited fellow economics professor Don Boudreaux to address “Monetary Misunderstandings” on the weekly podcast “EconTalk.” From the synopsis: “Don Boudreaux of George Mason University talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts on some of the common misunderstandings … Read more

High Inflation in the UK Worries the Bank of England

(This is a adapted repost from Inflation Watch) Bank of England (BoE) Monetary Policy Committee Member Adam Posen tells CNBC in an interview (see below or click here) that stubbornly high inflation is keeping the Bank of England members up at night. However, Posen prefers this situation to deflation (as all central bankers would). Slack … Read more