Federal Reserve Board Archives

Taper Tantrum

By Econ70 | 11/07/2013

For the Fed to taper their purchases of Treasuries and MBS, GDP growth needs to be above 2.5%, net new job growth needs to approach 200,000/month, the annual inflation rate should be nearing 2%, and the unemployment rate should be below 7.3%. These thresholds are still a ways off. Thus, the probability of a December…

Fed Faces

By Econ70 | 10/30/2013

In addition to nominating Janet Yellen to be Chairwoman of the Fed, President Obama will soon nominate three, and possibly four, new people to soon-to-be vacant slots on the seven-member Federal Reserve Board of Governors, all of whom vote on interest rate matters. Among the nominees, expect at least one Republican, one woman, and one…

Fed Head Fiasco

By Econ70 | 09/16/2013

The biggest loser in the current Fed Chairman Sweepstakes is the Fed. Simply considering Summers for the head Fed job politicizes a job that should be non-partisan. Arthur Burns, appointed by Nixon in 1970, was the last Chairman that was closely identified with one political party and he was a disaster. All evidence overwhelmingly shows…