Den Europeiska Republiken

Bon Soir!! Kalispera!! Welcome to "The New European Republic" - otherwise known as Den Europeiska Republiken. Forget about the goal of moving towards a "United States of Europe", we are now heading down a decidedly "Swedish" path on the European continent. The move to...

I Guess That’s Why We Hold Onto the Blues…

It was a soggy payroll report but certainly not a calamity. With revisions we were actually near the recently lowered expectations. The flat AHE certainly isn't a plus and the further drop in the labor force will get the "structural unemployment" camp hot and...

What More Could Spoos Ask For?

From Ben's Q&A today on the possibility of more QE – "We have been very accommodative. And we remain prepared to do more as needed to make sure this recovery continues and that inflation stays close to target......so those tools remain very much on the table. We will...

Monetary Policy – No Nominal Limits, No Real Borders

This week is the Milken Global Conference in LA - an event that I very much look forward to each spring. This year I will participate in a panel entitled - "Twist and Shout - the Limits of Monetary Policy". It should be a spirited discussion between Fed policy makers...

The SEP, the BoJ, the SNB and RR Cuts

This week we will see the release of the FOMC's "Summary of Economic Projections" - the SEP. While there will be the usual focus on GDP, PCE and the U-rate, the key charts for the market will be the newly generated "Appropriate Timing of Policy Firming" and the...

Viva la Fiesta, Viva la Noche, Viva los “Cental Bankers”

Yes, another line from that song I cannot get out of my head - "Loca People". But I replaced "los DJs" with "los central bankers". It seemed appropriate as they are the ones keeping the beat and making this party lively. If it wasn't for DJ Benny B we would have the...