Another “Operation Twist” will cause more damage to the economy
Last week the US central bank has announced that it will expand its “Operation Twist” program to extend the maturities of assets on its…
Does JP Morgan’s massive loss favour the argument for more controls?
On Friday May 1 2012, JP Morgan Chase & Co said it suffered a $2 billion trading loss. Some commentators have suggested that the…
The essence of Ludwig von Mises’s business cycle theory
In the slump of a cycle, businesses that were thriving come to experience difficulties or go under. They do so not because of firm-specific…
Contra Bernanke on the gold standard
In his lecture at George Washington University on March 20, 2012, Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke said that under a gold standard the authorities’…
Did Bernanke prevent another Great Depression?
In a lecture given at the George Washington University on March 27, 2012 the Chairman of the Fed said that the US central bank’s…
Loose monetary and fiscal policies, not high levels of debt, are the real economic threat
In his Outside the Box E-Letter February 13 2012, respected economic commentator John Mauldin presents an interview with Dr Lacy Hunt, a highly regarded…
Can the Fed grow the economy?
A fall in the unemployment rate to 8.3% in January from 8.5% in the month before has prompted many commentators to suggest that the…
Is deleveraging bad for the economy?
Take for instance company X, which has equity of $200. The company borrows $800 and buys an asset worth $1000. In this example we…
The gold standard and boom-bust cycles
According to some commentators on the gold standard, an increase in the supply of gold generates similar distortions that printing money out of “thin…
Why easy fiscal and monetary policies make things worse
Most experts are of the view that still-subdued economic activity requires a more aggressive stance from policy makers in order to revive the economy….