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...

New IRS Customer Service Motto: ‘Don’t Call Us and We Won’t Call You’

By Eric Pianin

The cash-strapped Internal Revenue Service for years has been moving towards a more automated system of electronic filings and communications with taxpayers – a trend that helps explain why more than...
Here’s What Bernie Sanders Would Do to the Fed

By Eric Pianin

Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen has been taking heavy flak recently from critics on the right who are determined to rein in the powers of the independent board and open its policies and operations...
IRS Whistleblower Finds Millions in Unverified Refunds

By Eric Pianin

As it braces for another tax season, the beleaguered Internal Revenue Service has received a highly mixed review on its performance in detecting and thwarting income tax fraud. On the positive side,...
The Fed Just Raised Rates. Here’s What It Means for Your Money

By Janna Herron

Seven years after dropping it to zero, the Federal Reserve finally increased a key benchmark rate that affects interest rates on consumer and business loans. The central bank voted to raise the...
Why Investors Are Moving to Cash

By Jeff Cox, CNBC

Investors are going to the mattresses, stuffing their money away until they get better clarity on the Fed's intentions for interest rates. Of course, the move hasn't been to actual mattresses but an...

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