In nominal terms, the Dow Jones industrial average is up about 30% since January of 2000. Adjusted for inflation, however, it’s more or less flat. To me, that back-of-the-envelope calculation hints that the Fed’s quantitative easing has not created some … read more >

Republicans should pay close attention to what’s happening in Japan, where the Bank of Japan’s new bond-buying program is already bearing fruit. As the Financial Times reports, ”Japan’s economy grew at the fastest pace among Group of Seven countries last quarter, … read more >

The Bernanke Fed has made two massive mistakes. First, it “passively tightened” between April 2008 and October 2008 — via hawkish FOMC statements and leaving rates unchanged — as the economy deteriorated. Second, it fell asleep once the worst of the … read more >

The economic news out today shows retail sales expanded, in the words of JPMorgan, “solidly” in April, with figures for both February and March revised higher. And last week, the four-week average of jobless claims fell 6,000 to 33,700, the lowest … read more >

The San Francisco Fed: The Federal Reserve was created 100 years ago in response to the harsh recession associated with the Panic of 1907. Comparing that recession with the Great Recession of 2007–09 suggests the Fed can mitigate downturns to … read more >