The Fed and Treasury

Will Trump Try to ‘Overrule’ Monetary Policy?

By Mark Thoma

How will the Federal Reserve evolve during Donald Trump’s term as president? Presently, three of the seven positions on the Federal Reserve Board are vacant. These vacancies, along with the...
Why the Treasury Is Ending a Low-Income Retirement Saving Program

By Beth Braverman

Less than two years after the Obama administration rolled out a myRA, a savings program aimed at helping the millions of Americans without access to a retirement account through work, the Trump...
Will Janet Yellen Give Wall Street a Scare?

By Anthony Mirhaydari

For years, the Federal Reserve has been unable to convince the market it's serious about aggressively tightening policy. Janet Yellen and her cohorts have been guilty of "crying wolf," constantly...
Is the Fed About to Wage War on the Rich?

By Anthony Mirhaydari

For years, stocks have been driven relentlessly higher thanks to a single statement that summarized the aggressive central bank largesse since the eurozone crisis flared up in 2012: Policymakers...
Is the Fed Fighting the Trump Rally?

By Anthony Mirhaydari

The evidence is growing that the Federal Reserve’s policymakers are actively working to lean against the stock market's rise, a dramatic reversal from the years of policy support stock market bulls...

The Fed’s Big Mistake: Rate Hikes Hurt US Workers

By David Dayen

Protesters rallied in Washington, New York City and Philadelphia yesterday against an imminent government action that would damage the financial prospects of ordinary workers. And no, it had nothing...
The Fed, the Reality of Tax Cuts, and Donald Trump

By Mark Thoma

For many years, Republicans argued that tax cuts for the wealthy pay for themselves. Cutting taxes on the wealthy, according to Republicans, allows them to keep a larger share of anything new they...
Will Unwinding the Fed’s $4.5 Trillion Balance Sheet Kill the Bull Market?

By Anthony Mirhaydari

Over the last decade, investors have grown accustomed to a Federal Reserve that constantly coddled them, allayed their fears and did everything possible to support the financial markets and asset...
The Key to This Market: Here’s What Will Determine if Stocks Rise or Fall

By Anthony Mirhaydari

For now, instead of putting pressure on risk assets, the Fed's newfound hawkishness is bolstering the reflation trade by lifting the dollar higher and attracting global capital into U.S. assets. Same...
Can Wall Street Handle Higher Interest Rates?

By Anthony Mirhaydari

The Federal Reserve just raised interest rates for the second time in three months, signaling a dramatic quickening of its prior pace. For the first time in more than a decade, Fed policymakers are...

Debt Limit: As America Loses, 3 ‘Winners’ Emerge

By Josh Boak and Eric Pianin, The Fiscal Times

The country, the world economy, your stock portfolio, your job security, your mortgage application, your Social Security application, and—heck—almost anything touched in some way by the federal...
The Loophole That Could Blunt a Debt Limit Debacle

By Bruce Bartlett, The Fiscal Times

Current funding for the federal government expires at midnight on Monday. If Congress fails to act, an 1884 law, the Anti-deficiency Act , requires the government to shut down except for essential...
13 Ways a Government Shutdown Could Affect You

By Maureen Mackey, The Fiscal Times

As the clock ticks toward a possible government shutdown early next week, many are wondering how that scenario would affect them. The Office of Management and Budget has asked federal agencies to...
Boehner Shifts to Debt Ceiling Game Plan

By Josh Boak, The Fiscal Times

The more House Speaker John Boehner talks about the budget and debt ceiling showdown, the less the American public understand how the differences with President Obama get resolved without damaging...
Cruz Gets Support from a GOP Shutdown Veteran

By Maureen Mackey, The Fiscal Times

Despite the criticism from pundits and jokes from late-night comedians, Ted Cruz, the intractable Tea Party senator from Texas (also known as the “Defunder”), has one big-time supporter outside the...

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