Real vs. Nominal Interest Rates
What is the real interest rate? It is the nominal rate minus the inflation rate. This is a problematic idea. Let’s drill deeper into…
Read MoreInflation
The real message from asset inflation
The earliest signs are developing of hyperinflation, more correctly described as a collapse of the purchasing power of all the major government currencies. Central…
Read More
Valuation Fallacies
By Jeffrey P. Snider Everyone knows about lies, damned lies, and statistics. The quote has been attached to Mark Twain who apparently attributed to…
Read MoreShould the Gold Price Keep Up with Inflation?
The popular belief is that gold is a good hedge against inflation. Owning gold will protect you from rising prices. Is that true? Most…
Read More
Janet Yellen Fights the Tide of Falling Interest
On Wednesday Dec 16, Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen announced that the Fed was raising the federal funds rate by 25 basis points. Let’s…
Read MoreCan’t argue with a confident man
“I can say therefore with confidence – and without any complacency – that we will secure the return of inflation to 2% without undue…
Read More
The Fed’s in a bind
One can understand the Fed’s frustration over the failure of its interest rate policy, and its desire to escape the zero bound. However, since…
Read MoreBut what does it mean?
“Risk is what’s left over when you think you’ve thought of everything.” – Carl Richards. By the time this financial crisis is over, a…
Read MoreYield Purchasing Power: $100M Today Matches $100K in 1979
I wrote a story about poor Clarence who retired in 1979, and even poorer Larry who retired last year. I created these characters to…
Read MoreTHERE’S Your Hyperinflation!
Hyperinflation is commonly defined as rapidly rising prices which get out of control. For example, the Wikipedia entry begins, “In economics, hyperinflation occurs when…
Read More