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Posts Tagged ‘quantitative easing’

Why Might The Fed’s Party Be Over?

Posted by Larry Doyle on June 20th, 2011 8:07 AM |

Over the last few years I have highlighted the fact that the deflationary impact of declining wages and home values gave cover to the Federal Reserve for maintaining an excessively easy monetary policy and pumping up asset prices via quantitative easing. That party would now seem to be over. Why?

There is no doubt that Fed chair Bernanke’s easy money has played an integral role in the inflation we are experiencing at the pump, in the supermarket, and across a number of other commodities.

As we continue to navigate the U.S. economic landscape circa 2011 and beyond, the ongoing decline in home values in many regions of our nation now would seem to be setting the table for an inflationary spike in housing costs. How so? What is going on here?  (more…)

Robert Auerbach Unloads on the Federal Reserve

Posted by Larry Doyle on April 26th, 2011 5:00 PM |


Tomorrow may be a truly special day in the history of our country’s financial hierarchy. The normally secretive institution known as the Federal Reserve led by current chair Ben Bernanke will host a live press conference shortly after the Fed Board of Governors exits from its regularly scheduled meeting addressing our nation’s economy and the Fed’s current monetary policy.

Will Bernanke surprise the markets and announce a continuation of the Fed’s asset bubbling, commodity inflating policy known formally as quantitative easing? Did somebody in the markets today know something about the Fed’s stance? Did anybody else find it particularly interesting that both stocks and bonds rallied big today?

While market participants anxiously await Bernanke’s words of wisdom, I actually think the better “Fed-show” may have been delivered today by Robert Auerbach. Who is Robert Auerbach? (more…)

Will There Be a QE3?

Posted by Larry Doyle on March 28th, 2011 7:56 AM |

Is there really any doubt that virtually all our markets, especially commodities and with the exception of real estate, have been propped higher as a direct or indirect result of the Federal Reserve’s policy of quantitative easing? I have no doubt.

The question remains outstanding just how far the Fed, in concert with its banking friends on Wall Street, has gone and will go to further manipulate our markets. That question may never be fully answered. What a shame! For those who believe a preponderance of truth, transparency, and integrity are the cornerstones for long term fiscal health and financial well being our markets remain a decidedly challenging arena.

In light of this reality and with the end of QE2 on the horizon this June, where do we go from here? A reader posed that very question the other day. (more…)

What is the Fed Really Buying?

Posted by Larry Doyle on November 8th, 2010 7:41 AM |

Quantitative easing is merely another tool to adjust monetary policy, correct? Perhaps. The question begs, then, after an initial round of a trillion-plus quantitative easing failed to stimulate the economy why should we expect any differently this time. Great question. Let’s navigate.

Quantitative easing involves the purchase of Treasury and mortgage securities by the Federal Reserve in an attempt to inject liquidity into the system, prop asset prices, and spur consumer demand. Or so they say. Well how is the overall level of credit in our economy trending?

The downward slope in the graph is an indication of both lessened credit availability and also lessened credit demand. The quantitative easing should directly address this reality, correct? I am not so sure about the “directly” aspect of that statement. In fact, I will go a step further and say I think the Fed is being less than forthright with the nation. If the Fed truly wanted to inject liquidity and capital into our economy and allow it to flow through to small businesses directly there are much better ways of doing it than by purchasing overvalued Treasury and mortgage securities. (more…)

The Real Cost of Quantitative Easing

Posted by Larry Doyle on November 5th, 2010 9:49 AM |

Life is ultimately a matter of perspective.

Two people can look at a situation and see decidedly different things. Having been traveling for the better part of this week, I got home late last night to check on how markets closed yesterday. When I saw that equity markets rallied 2 per cent, commodities rose a like amount, and bonds also increased in value, I was not surprised but I was not thinking that I had reason to be cheerful either. I merely raised my eyebrows and went to bed knowing full well that to many people in our nation, these market movements would have little to no impact on their daily lives and immediate futures.

Am I being excessively pessimistic in my assessment? (more…)

What Will the Fed Do When QE2 Fails to Stimulate Economy?

Posted by Larry Doyle on October 29th, 2010 5:56 AM |

Here we are a full three years into our economic malaise, Uncle Sam has thrown everything and the kitchen sink at the economy yet we have little to no traction in terms of growth and momentum. Will another trillion dollars of liquidity do the trick? Well, while the Fed’s liquidity may move markets, will it move the economy? Don’t bet on it. The Fed and its brethren on Wall Street and in Washington are reluctant to truly level with the American people. How so?

Our nation is experiencing a serious structural change in our economy — not a mere ‘enormous downturn’ in the midst of the business cycle. If our central bankers and government officials were to emphasize this point, it may cause a sharper retrenchment in our current growth but it would likely lead to a quicker rebound. Before we get into why our bankers and their political cronies are reluctant to make this acknowledgement, let’s take the pulse of an array of venture capitalists, money managers, and others who provide the capital to a wide array of companies. What do these individuals think the economic impact of another round of quantitative easing might be? (more…)

How Big Is the Punch Bowl?

Posted by Larry Doyle on October 7th, 2010 1:00 PM |

Party on.

In watching a midday Bloomberg interview, the host Tom Keene asked his guests just how big the punch bowl will be that Fed chair Ben Bernanke puts in front of investors at the next Fed meeting. The punch bowl being the size of the highly anticipated second round of Federal Reserve quantitative easing that is driving interest rates lower and asset prices higher.  

While this punch bowl may be smaller than the initial party launched in 2009, the fact is expectations are that this punch bowl will run anywhere from $500 billion to $1 trillion in size. That is a lot of liquidity to keep the Wall Street party going. However, that figure is also a very strong indication as to the enormity of the underlying problems embedded in our economic foundation. (more…)

The Hidden Costs of Quantitative Easing or “As An Actuary You Are Having Sleepless Nights”

Posted by Larry Doyle on October 6th, 2010 9:03 AM |

When central banks hint at implementing further quantitative easing and risk-based assets (commodities and equities) rally and interest rates fall (meaning, bonds rally as well), this is all good, right? If that is the case, is it even better when the hints become an outright statement of plans for more quantitative easing as was the case yesterday with The Bank of Japan? (WSJ: Central Banks Open Spigot; October, 4, 2010)

Clearly, the global central banks are launching these new volleys of quantitative easing in an attempt to forestall deflationary pressures at work underlying our global economy. That said, while asset markets are rising, we need to be aware there are very real costs to this ongoing financial experiment. What are the costs? (more…)

Without Job Growth, Here Comes the “QE2”

Posted by Larry Doyle on August 6th, 2010 9:46 AM |

This morning’s Unemployment Report further confirms that our economy remains burdened by our Sense on Cents description of ‘walking pneumonia.’  While this month’s report was decidedly weaker than expectations, once again we witness downward revisions to prior reports. Do you find it strange that more often than not much of the economic data released has displayed this tendency to have downward revisions to prior reports. Think the data is heavily massaged? You think?

Let’s navigate this morning’s report thanks to The Wall Street Journal’s Market Data page: (more…)

Fed Minutes Flashing Caution

Posted by Larry Doyle on July 14th, 2010 3:24 PM |

The Federal Reserve just released the minutes from a June 22-23 meeting and an early May conference call. The Fed as an institution is always careful in its delivery, but in reading through their tea leaves this afternoon I sense concern on the Fed’s part of a real  slowing, if not a double dip, in our economy. A summary of the Fed minutes includes the following highlights:

FOMC participants’ forecasts for economic activity and inflation suggested that they expected the recovery to continue and inflation to remain subdued, but with, on balance, slightly weaker real activity and a bit lower inflation than in the projections they made in conjunction with the April 2010 FOMC meeting. (more…)






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