At the beginning of the year the Federal Reserve was using two primary reasons for their relentless Fed Fund Rate increases. One was inflation and the other was that rates were just too low and accommodative for an economy that was doing well. Another unspoken reason might be they want to get them higher so […]
The day of mourning for President Bush put a stop to the market midweek and may have contributed to the extra hard day on Tuesday as stocks fell sharply. However, it is also a reflection of the stark increase in volatility in the market since October 1st. Volatility itself is not a bad thing because […]
The Federal Reserve chairman Powell earlier this week made some calming remarks about interest rates. The Fed has been raising rates steadily for a couple years and recently these increases have put a lot of pressure on stock prices. Of course the trade dispute with China has contributed as well as the weakness in the […]
For the first time ever the Federal Reserve has put out the Financial Stability Report. They plan on producing it twice a year. It is supposed to cover the major financial issues, good and bad of the economy. This first report covered a concern about corporate debt and other forms of risky debt, junk bonds […]
The U.S. has dramatically increased the supply of oil ever since the shale oil revolution started a decade ago. Spending on drilling and other investiture has helped the economy enjoy its rebound in recent years. However, now that U.S. production has reached 10 million barrels a day making it the leading worldwide producer (or maybe […]
There is very little concern about China and the huge debt they are and have been building for years. It may be a case of crying wolf. In the past when pundits and economists have rang the bell of danger about China’s debt woes, China has been able to postpone the implosion that will shrink […]
The Federal Reserve met last week and they left the Fed Funds Rate where it is as expected. However, they reiterated their intention to raise rates in December and into next year. Their reasoning looks flawed. They could point to an increase in inflation as seen in last week’s PPI report. That would be reasonable […]