Interest Rates, the Money Supply, and Say’s Law
Andy Kessler at the Wall Street Journal wrote an interesting column about the perils of stimulating demand in a supply-constrained environment. He argues, correctly, that expansionary monetary policy is more likely to create inflation when the economy’s supply side is flagging. He exaggerates, however, the power the Federal Reserve (and by extension any central bank) […]
Where did woke ideas start to spread?
“Team america: world police”, a comedy puppet film, pokes fun at American self-importance. The theme song boasts of the things the country has created: McDonald’s, the nfl and rock-and-roll; also, less plausibly, liberty, Christmas and books. New work by David Rozado of Te Pukenga–New Zealand Institute of Skills and Technology suggests something else that Americans […]
More and more Americans are gaming the deposit-insurance system
Imagine you are the dealer at a vast card table. There are 3,000 players, each of whom is holding a different number of cards. Some have thousands; others a handful. Each will hold onto some cards and return the rest to you. Your job is to reshuffle the deck and deal it again such that […]
What luxury stocks say about the new cold war
Is it in Europe’s interests to follow America into a conflict over Taiwan? The suggestion by Emmanuel Macron, president of France, that perhaps it is not provoked anger on both sides of the Atlantic. But many French business leaders will quietly agree with Mr Macron’s intention: to defuse tensions between China and the West. After […]
After decades of stagnation, wages in Japan are finally rising
Kasahara yoshihisa, boss of Higo Bank, a lender in Japan’s south, beams with pride as he explains plans to lift wages. The firm’s workers will see a 3% boost, as well as regular increases for seniority. But a sheepish look crosses his face when asked about the last time staff saw such a rise. “Twenty-eight […]
UK economy stagnates in February as strikes and inflation bite
LONDON — The U.K. economy flatlined in February as widespread industrial action and persistently high inflation stymied activity. Data on Thursday showed a steady GDP in February, missing consensus expectations of 0.1% growth. Both the services and production sectors contracted, partly offset by a record 2.4% expansion in construction. This followed an upwardly revised 0.4% […]
Modest easing of US inflation lifts hopes as IMF warns of turbulence ahead
This article is an onsite version of our Disrupted Times newsletter. Sign up here to get the newsletter sent straight to your inbox three times a week Today’s top stories China has U-turned on plans to block some of the world’s busiest airspace near Taiwan for three days, causing confusion over Beijing’s priorities in handling […]
Greenspan on NGDP targeting – Econlib
I’ve been reading Robert Hetzel’s excellent new history of the Fed, and came across this November 1992 quotation from Alan Greenspan: We have seen that to drive nominal GDP, let’s assume at 4 1/2%, in our old philosophy we would have said that [requires] 4 1/2% growth in M2. . . . I’m basically […]
