Monthly Archives: August 2011

…back in 2008/9 Krugman had been as pro monetary policy as he indicates in his comment to the reasons for Fischer´s dissent that appeared in the FOMC Minutes: So, let’s see: Fisher thinks that the problem is “uncertainty” caused by … Continue reading →

From the WSJ: One member of the troika who opposed the Federal Reserve‘s recent decision to keep rates at rock bottom levels for two years suggested he won’t be repeating his disagreement at coming central bank gatherings. In a speech, Federal Reserve … Continue reading →

Almost two years ago, Mark Thoma and Krugman did a piece on excess capacity and unemployment. This is their picture (updated). From Thoma: the sooner unemployment returns to normal the better, but we need to be better prepared than we … Continue reading →

I´ve been using those words with some frequency lately (Benjamin Cole in the comments even more so!). So read the whole James Surowiecki New Yorker article – Europe´s big mistake – to really grasp their meaning: In July, 2008, on … Continue reading →

Amidst doubts and internal disputes. All came out in JH: JACKSON HOLE, Wyo.—After four years of fighting crises and pumping money into the financial system, the world’s central bankers are concluding that the global economy is still in a precarious … Continue reading →

In today´s NYT Sunday Review, David Leonhardt writes “Dissecting the Mind of the Fed”: IF you were to conduct a survey of the country’s top economists, you would find a fair number who did not believe that the Federal Reserve … Continue reading →

And then many complain that recovery is being held back by “uncertainty”! This from Randall Kroszner, a fomer Fed Governor: Kroszner’s summary of Bernanke’s speech: “We’re still not sure–so I’m not getting into that…..We ‘ll investigate further in September…but we … Continue reading →

No matter what we do “today”. At Macroblog David Altig (head of research at the Atlanta Fed) “twitts” the CBO and the BEA: Key to the CBO’s estimates is a reasonably good outlook for GDP growth after we get past … Continue reading →

With “friends like these, who needs “enemies”: A top economist at the Bank for International Settlements, the central bank of central banks, made a veiled criticism on Friday of Ben Bernanke‘s easy-money policies by siding with one of the Federal Reserve … Continue reading →

After all, there was something “new” in Bernanke´s Jackson Hole speech. …This economic healing will take a while, and there may be setbacks along the way. Moreover, we will need to remain alert to risks to the recovery, including financial … Continue reading →