quantitative easing

QE Forever: The Fed’s Dramatic About-face

“Quantitative easing” was supposed to be an emergency measure. The Federal Reserve “eased” shrinkage in the money supply due to the 2008-09 credit crisis by pumping out trillions of dollars in new bank reserves. After the crisis, the presumption was that the Fed would “normalize” conditions by sopping up the excess reserves through “quantitative tightening” […]

Turkish Lira collapse has Europe worried and Erdogan fighting Trump (Video)

According to Zerohedge, just when you thought Turkey’s moment of agony couldn’t get any worse, it got much worse, when watching the collapse of the Turkish Lira and sensing perhaps that Erdogan’s end is near, President Donald Trump blindsided the NATO member state with a tweet, announcing that he is doubling Turkey’s steel and aluminum tariffs to 50% and 20%, respectively. Why?

Trump Takes on the Fed

The president has criticized Federal Reserve policy for undermining his attempts to build the economy. The best way to make the central bank serve the needs of the economy is to make it a public utility. For nearly half a century, presidents have refrained from criticizing the “independent” Federal Reserve; but that was before Donald […]

Funding Infrastructure: Why China Is Running Circles Around America

“One Belt, One Road,” China’s $1 trillion infrastructure initiative, is a massive undertaking of highways, pipelines, transmission lines, ports, power stations, fiber optics, and railroads connecting China to Central Asia, Europe and Africa. According to Dan Slane, a former advisor in President Trump’s transition team, “It is the largest infrastructure project initiated by one nation […]

Are US indices pulling a global rout?

US stocks plummet, pulling much of the global indices down with them
Commodity trading also plummeted after Wall Street’s sudden decline this week [Xinhua]
Oil prices have continued into their third day of decline as US stocks plunge at the fastest rate since 2016.
The US benchmark West Texas intermediate dropped 0.76 per cent to $63.66 a barrel for March. Global benchmark Brent Crude fell 0.89 per cent for April to $67.02 a barrel.

Emerging markets to be hot commodity in 2018?

Workers make bicycle parts at a factory at Ludhina in the Indian state of Punjab. India remains one of the strongest emerging market performers, analysts agree [Xinhua]
Investments in emerging markets have been on the rebound in the past 18 months soaring to new levels despite the dollar and oil prices fluctuation, and look likely to continue their upward climb in the coming year.

Trump on Fed chair: Status quo vs radical shift

Markets are speculating that Trump will choose a Fed chief who will not upset the current policies of the Federal Reserve [Xinhua]
Emerging markets are hoping that US President Donald Trump will pick a replacement for Federal Reserve chief Janet Yellen, whose term as chair expires in February 2018.
While she will remain on as Fed governor until 2024, and will be one of five candidates for Trump to choose from, economists in emergint markets are betting that Trump could sway toward Fed Governor Jerome Powell, who is seen as being more dovish than Yellen.