photo: FAB O LENS Renewed allegations of “currency manipulation” in the US-China bilateral agenda have less to do with the Chinese renminbi than US election politics and the Fed’s anticipated rate hikes. Even before the start of the eighth and final Strategic and Economic Dialogue (S&ED) of the Obama administration, the issue of the exchange rate […]
photo: ctj71081 The mandate of the Federal Reserve is clear: “…promote effectively the goals of maximum employment, stable prices and moderate long-term interest rates.” How to achieve those goals, of course, has been the subject of great debate: should the central bank use interest rates or monetary aggregates? should it rely on rules or discretion? The ongoing controversy […]
photo: Nicolas Raymond Today, the Iran nuclear deal is effective. Yet, Iran’s efforts to attract foreign investment and accelerate growth and prosperity face new hurdles, which seem to reflect Washington’s efforts to dent the agreement. Last January, the nuclear agreement between, Iran and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council (US, China, France, Russia, […]
photo: Nicolas Raymond The similarities in the electoral appeals of businessman Donald Trump and Senator Bernie Sanders have been widely noted (see, for example, here, here and here). Both men attract voters who feel trapped in their economic status, unable to make progress either for themselves or their children. Moreover, both men have assigned the blame for the loss of […]
photo: Geof Wilson The numbers say that these should be the best of times for America. The economy has been growing for five years. Unemployment is low. Inflation is almost nonexistent and gas is cheap. Yet, many Americans feel deeply uneasy about their future prospects. Uncertainty is the catchword of the moment. This uncertainty is contributing […]
The political chatter class is abuzz about today’s two Republican winner take all primaries — Florida and Ohio — that will pit Republican front runner Donald Trump against those two states’ hometown candidates, Marco Rubio and John Kasich, respectively. Florida’s primary is closed, meaning only registered Republicans are allowed to cast a ballot for a […]
photo: Dirk Dallas Like most economists, I am strongly inclined toward free trade. I cringe to see the way free trade is under attack, from both parties, during this primary season. The two populist candidates are the worst offenders. Bernie Sanders, whom I support on many other issues [1] [2] [3], goes off the rails when it comes to […]
photo: doug turetsky Fed minutes from the January 26th & 27th policy meeting released earlier today could be summed up, to a first order approximation, as expressing uncertainty, with a bias to the downside. To wit, from the Current Conditions and the Economic Outlook: “Participants discussed whether their current assessments of economic conditions and the medium-term […]
photo: Moyan Brenn The idea that Democrats want to make America more like Europe is a favorite Republican attack line. Writing in The New York Times, David Brooks expresses amazement that so many millennials are supporting Bernie Sanders, an open admirer of the European model. Why would anyone in their right mind favor “sluggish” Europe over “vibrant” […]
Image: Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) The New York Times calls it a ‘scourge’. The MTA has a running campaign on the subway to stamp it out. Countless blog posts have bitterly denounced it. But what if manspreading — the act of a male passenger sitting on public transit with his legs apart — is not […]