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Weekly Commentary: When Money Died
Weekly Commentary: When Money Died Sitting at the dinner table, our eleven-year old son inquired: “If a big meteor was about to hit the earth, how much money would the Fed print?” I complimented his sense of humor. Yet it was a sad testament to the historic monetary fiasco that will haunt his generation. Federal […]
Worst Recession in 150 Years
Worst Recession in 150 Years The stock market had another big day today, spurred by the Fed’s massive recent liquidity injections. But you really shouldn’t be terribly surprised by the rally. Even the worst bear markets see substantial bouncebacks. And you can expect the market to give back all of its recent gains in the […]
What Are You Gonna Do About It?
What Are You Gonna Do About It? Tucked into the recent recovery bill was a provision granting the Federal Reserve the right to set up a $450 billion bailout plan without following key provisions of the federal open meetings law, including announcing its meetings or keeping most records about them, according to a POLITICO review […]
Houston: The Banks Have A Huge Problem
Houston: The Banks Have A Huge Problem For many years after the financial crisis, US commercial banks were mocked when instead of generating earnings the old-fashioned way, by collecting the interest arb on loans they had made, or even by frontrunning the Fed with their prop (and flow) trading desks, they would “earn” their way […]
Far worse to come: COVID-19 collapse of state and local governments
Far worse to come: COVID-19 collapse of state and local governments Another sudden and unexpected factor will transform this year’s elections. Many states, cities and counties are about to, suddenly, run out of money. Wages won’t be paid. Services won’t be delivered. Institutions will shut down abruptly. Many state colleges may fold. And yet most […]
Daily on Energy: Texas debates mandating oil production cuts
Daily on Energy: Texas debates mandating oil production cuts TEXAS DEBATES PRODUCTION CUTS: Texas can lead in producing a “real” U.S. oil production cut to save the shale industry, Scott Sheffield, CEO of Pioneer Natural Resources, argued Tuesday in calling for the state to take action to force companies to hold back their production for the first […]
Bank of Canada Announces Provincial, Corporate QE
Bank of Canada Announces Provincial, Corporate QE While the Bank of Canada kept its overnight rate at 0.25% as expected – as the alternative after three consecutive rate cuts would have been to cut below its effective lower bound of 0.25% and go NIRP – the central bank – which announced that the outlook is […]
“Worst. Recession. Ever.”
“Worst. Recession. Ever.” When Harry Met Comic-Book-Guy “Worst global downturn since the Great Depression” says the IMF. Actually, it’s potentially worse than that.We are seeing credible (initial) claims in the UK and US that millions/tens of millions are going to be unemployed – again taking us back to black & white memories of long queues of […]
COVID-19 and the War on Cash: What Is Behind the Push for a Cashless Society? [SHORT]
COVID-19 and the War on Cash: What Is Behind the Push for a Cashless Society? [SHORT] Cash may well become a casualty of the COVID-19 pandemic. As these COVID-19 lockdowns drag out, more and more individuals and businesses are going cashless (for convenience and in a so-called effort to avoid spreading coronavirus germs), engaging in online commerce […]
Hyperinflationists Come Out of the Woodwork Again
Hyperinflationists Come Out of the Woodwork Again CoinDesk asked me to share my opinions on the chance of hyperinflation. My thoughts are below. From CoinDesk Hi Mish, I am working on an article for CoinDesk about recent fiscal and monetary splurge by governments and central banks across the globe and the impact on gold and […]
What Happens When The Pandemic Ends?
What Happens When The Pandemic Ends? Let’s assume that by the end of this year a combination of social distancing and some new and effective treatments convert covid-19 from existential threat to chronic nuisance and the economy starts to assume an air of normalcy. Which is to say that people go back to traveling and […]
The very complex Jigsaw
The very complex Jigsaw Blain’s Morning Porridge – 14 April 2020. “If you try to take a cat apart to see how it works, the first thing you will have is a non-working cat.” On Thursday I posted a note on the Fed doing exactly what I predicted – a programme to buy high-yield junk. […]
Oil Tumbles After IMF Slashes Global Growth Forecast
Oil Tumbles After IMF Slashes Global Growth Forecast As if oil prices needed any more help on their downward spiral towards the teens, The IMF just slashed global growth to the worst since the ’30s. “This crisis is like no other,” Gita Gopinath, the IMF’s chief economist, wrote in a foreword to its semi-annual report. “Like […]
