The Fed and Treasury

Will Trump Try to ‘Overrule’ Monetary Policy?

By Mark Thoma

How will the Federal Reserve evolve during Donald Trump’s term as president? Presently, three of the seven positions on the Federal Reserve Board are vacant. These vacancies, along with the...
Why the Treasury Is Ending a Low-Income Retirement Saving Program

By Beth Braverman

Less than two years after the Obama administration rolled out a myRA, a savings program aimed at helping the millions of Americans without access to a retirement account through work, the Trump...
Will Janet Yellen Give Wall Street a Scare?

By Anthony Mirhaydari

For years, the Federal Reserve has been unable to convince the market it's serious about aggressively tightening policy. Janet Yellen and her cohorts have been guilty of "crying wolf," constantly...
Is the Fed About to Wage War on the Rich?

By Anthony Mirhaydari

For years, stocks have been driven relentlessly higher thanks to a single statement that summarized the aggressive central bank largesse since the eurozone crisis flared up in 2012: Policymakers...
Is the Fed Fighting the Trump Rally?

By Anthony Mirhaydari

The evidence is growing that the Federal Reserve’s policymakers are actively working to lean against the stock market's rise, a dramatic reversal from the years of policy support stock market bulls...

The Fed’s Big Mistake: Rate Hikes Hurt US Workers

By David Dayen

Protesters rallied in Washington, New York City and Philadelphia yesterday against an imminent government action that would damage the financial prospects of ordinary workers. And no, it had nothing...
The Fed, the Reality of Tax Cuts, and Donald Trump

By Mark Thoma

For many years, Republicans argued that tax cuts for the wealthy pay for themselves. Cutting taxes on the wealthy, according to Republicans, allows them to keep a larger share of anything new they...
Will Unwinding the Fed’s $4.5 Trillion Balance Sheet Kill the Bull Market?

By Anthony Mirhaydari

Over the last decade, investors have grown accustomed to a Federal Reserve that constantly coddled them, allayed their fears and did everything possible to support the financial markets and asset...
The Key to This Market: Here’s What Will Determine if Stocks Rise or Fall

By Anthony Mirhaydari

For now, instead of putting pressure on risk assets, the Fed's newfound hawkishness is bolstering the reflation trade by lifting the dollar higher and attracting global capital into U.S. assets. Same...
Can Wall Street Handle Higher Interest Rates?

By Anthony Mirhaydari

The Federal Reserve just raised interest rates for the second time in three months, signaling a dramatic quickening of its prior pace. For the first time in more than a decade, Fed policymakers are...

Forget China, the More Immediate Threat to Your Portfolio Is From Congress

By Michael Brush, The Fiscal Times

Investors have been pulling out of stocks largely on fears of a potential slowdown in China's economy. But to understand what's going to hit their portfolios next, they'd be wiser to look closer to...
How a Fed Rate Hike Could Set Off a Global Squeeze

By Anthony Mirhaydari

It’s essentially a coin flip. That’s how J.P. Morgan economist Michael Feroli describes the "hike/no hike" decision facing the Federal Reserve this week. The economic data "present a clear case for...
Seven Reasons the Fed Won’t Hike Interest Rates Next Week

By Anthony Mirhaydari

The market has gone into suspended animation following a feeble bounce back from the very scary selloff of late August. Volatility in Chinese markets has more or less stabilized as Beijing...
Why the Fed Must Banish the 1970’s Inflation Devil Before Raising Rates

By Mark Thoma

Will the Fed raise rates when it meets later this month? Inflation remains below the Fed’s two percent target, and that argues against a rate increase. But labor markets appear to be tightening and...
China vs. Yellen: 3 Scenarios That Will Determine the Fate of the Global Economy

By Anthony Mirhaydari

It's pretty clear by now: The theme of the economic expansion of the last few years, and the powerful bull run in global markets, has been the aggressive effort by central banks to paper over...

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