Topic: Monetary Policy

Inflation, Monetary Policy, Sound Money Project

Prices Decline in May, Monetary Policy Tightens

– June 28, 2024

“Prices today are 8.9 percentage points higher than they would have been had the Fed hit its 2-percent inflation target since January 2020.”

Central Banking, Inflation, Monetary Policy

There’s No Good Reason to Raise the Inflation Target

– June 24, 2024

“Why not give the central bank a wider berth, if it helps to stabilize the economy? Because it doesn’t actually help. Interest rates are a distraction.” ~Alexander W. Salter

Inflation, Monetary Policy, Sound Money Project

FOMC Holds Rates, Revises Forward Guidance

– June 12, 2024

“Just as the FOMC was slow to adjust policy when inflation surged in late 2021, it will be slow to adjust policy as inflation returns to and falls below its target in 2024.” ~William J Luther

Inflation, Monetary Policy, Sound Money Project

Prices Stable in May: Time to Cut Rates?

– June 12, 2024

“M2, the most commonly cited measure of the money supply, is up 0.53 percent from a year ago. Since real income and population are growing faster than this, current M2 growth also suggests money is tight. But this is speculative.” ~Alexander W. Salter

Central Banking, Inflation, Monetary Policy, Sound Money Project

Politicizing Monetary Policy Won’t Fix the Fed’s Failings

– June 10, 2024

“Even if one thinks Trump is well-suited to make interest rate decisions (and there is little reason to think he is), it does not follow that Trump’s proposed solution would improve monetary policy.” ~Nicolás Cachanosky

Central Banking, Inflation, Monetary Policy, Sound Money Project

Inflation Continued to Decline in April

– June 1, 2024

“While inflation is declining once more, members of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) have suggested rates would need to remain high for longer than they had previously projected.” ~William J. Luther

Central Banking, Monetary Policy, Sound Money Project

The Demise of the Dual Banking System

– May 22, 2024

“The issue comes down to whether a state-chartered bank that fulfills the legal requirements for a master account can be denied one by the Federal Reserve.” ~Gerald P. Dwyer

Inflation, Monetary Policy, Sound Money Project

April’s Disinflation Delivery

– May 16, 2024

“In the first quarter of 2024, the US economy expanded at a rate of 1.6 percent per year. That’s hardly an impressive growth rate, but it’s significantly faster than money supply growth. Money looks somewhat tight.” ~Alexander W. Salter

Central Banking, Inflation, Monetary Policy, Sound Money Project

Is The Fed Manipulating the Market?

– May 15, 2024

“We cannot just look at the Fed’s target rate to determine whether it is manipulating the market. We must consider its target rate relative to the natural rate.” ~Bryan Cutsinger

Central Banking, Inflation, Monetary Policy

Chairman Powell and The Fed’s Limits

– May 9, 2024

“Congress should applaud Chairman Powell’s candor on uncertainty and strongly support his principle of operating the Fed within the limits of its mandate.” ~Alex J. Pollock

Books, Inflation, Monetary Policy, Sound Money

Getting Monetary Policy Back on Track

– May 7, 2024

“Experts seemingly identify much more closely with the central bankers — the practitioners of monetary policy — than with those forced to contend with the negative consequences of bad decisions.” ~Judy Shelton

Monetary Policy

The Ratchet Effect on the Fed’s Balance Sheet

– May 3, 2024

“The ratchet effect has locked us in a world with a massive Fed balance sheet — and the insidious problems of runaway deficit spending and easy bailout monetary expansion that come with it.” ~ Paul Mueller