Let’s get one thing out of the way. This is not a move towards free markets. Whether the Fed sets interest lower, or whether it sets interest higher, we still have central planning. We still have price fixing of interest rates.
Interest rates may be set too low. However, forcing interest up is no cure. We need to eliminate central planning, and move to a free market in interest. This is impossible in our present monetary regime.
Anyway, given the system as it is, the Fed is going to have to take back this interest rate hike. Here is Exhibit A of our case: a graph of the 10-year US Treasury bond yield.
Source: Yahoo Finance
At least the US dollar still has interest. Switzerland, and several countries in the European Union, don’t. Their currencies are drowning under the zero line. For example, the Swiss government 10-year bond takes 0.16% per year from lenders. That’s right, if you fork over your francs to buy that bond, you get back less at the end. Germany is little better, with their five-year bond charging investors 0.1%.
The global trend for over three decades has been falling interest. The yield on the 10-year Treasury even fell after the Fed’s announcement. Yellen thinks to fight this megatrend, but that’s absurd. Let’s look at why.
The process that sets the interest rate is complex. I have written many words on its terminal decline. However, there are two simple reasons why the trend remains downward.
One, banks today have a business model called maturity transformation. They borrow short term to lend long term.
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