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...

Lew to Push Concerns on Cyber Security with China

By Reuters

U.S. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew has said he will keep up pressure on China over cyber security, especially stealing of intellectual property and trade secrets, which he sees as separate from other...
Will Rising Mortgage Rates Kill the Recovery?

By Yuval Rosenberg

Spiking rates have fueled concern that the Fed’s recent signals – or the market’s reaction to them – could undercut the economy and, in particular, a key area that Bernanke pointed to as driving the...
Jumpy Markets Look to Friday’s June Jobs Report

By Patti Domm, CNBC

Choppy, thin trading will likely be the state of play in the coming week as traders await the important June jobs report Friday and fret about what the Federal Reserve might do
Senate Gets an “Incomplete” on Student Loans

By Josh Boak, The Fiscal Times

The Senate will depart for a July 4th holiday with college students kept in limbo about the status of their federally subsidized loans. Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI) and 37 other Democrats want to extend the...
Is the Economic Glass Half Empty or Half Full?

By Bruce Bartlett, The Fiscal Times

It is often the case that economic indicators move simultaneously in opposite directions. Trying to figure out which ones are giving an accurate picture of the economy can be a daunting task. What...

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