Value of Dollar & the Price of Oil
Declining Dollar Adds to the Price of Gas
United States Monetary Policy Going Forward
In recent years, the Federal Reserve has shifted away from well-established norms for monetary policy. These policy deviations—which include holding interest rates too low for too long from 2002 to 2005 and intervening into the market during and after the financial crisis of 2008 —have harmed the ...
Weekly Economic Update: February 27- March 2, 2012
The ISM index fell 1.7 points to 52.4 in February. Fourth quarter GDP was revised upwards to 3.0%. Personal income increased 0.3% while personal spending rose 0.2%. The Case-Shiller index declined 0.5% in December. Auto sales were up 6.5% in February. Durable orders declined 4.0% in January. P...
United States Monetary History in Brief Part 3
With the creation of the Federal Reserve, the seasonal panics that had dominated the American economy since the 1870’s ceased as the Fed effectively used the tools of monetary policy to provide greater elasticity to the U.S. money supply. Meanwhile, the Great War—World War I—raged as the Federal Res...
The 2012 Economic Report of the President
Long after most Members of Congress had cast their final votes before returning home for the President’s Day district work period and after many reporters had already filed their weekend stories, the White House released the 2012 Economic Report of the President (ERP) at 4:00 p.m. on Friday, Februar...
United States Monetary History in Brief Part 2
In 1860, the U.S. money supply consisted of $500 million in both currency and bank deposits. With the opening of Civil War, the public began to hoard gold in anticipation of inflation, and by the war’s end four years later, prices—including that of gold—had doubled.
United States Monetary History in Brief
Central banks are chartered by national governments to have a legal monopoly over a nation’s currency and bank reserves. To manage a nation’s money supply, they use monetary policy tools, such as open market operations (e.g., buying/selling gold, silver, government debt securities, etc.); setting re...
