Real vs. Nominal Interest Rates
byWhat is the real interest rate? It is the nominal rate minus the inflation rate. This is a problematic idea. Let’s drill deeper into…
Inflation
The real message from asset inflation
byThe earliest signs are developing of hyperinflation, more correctly described as a collapse of the purchasing power of all the major government currencies. Central…
Valuation Fallacies
byBy Jeffrey P. Snider Everyone knows about lies, damned lies, and statistics. The quote has been attached to Mark Twain who apparently attributed to…
Should the Gold Price Keep Up with Inflation?
byThe popular belief is that gold is a good hedge against inflation. Owning gold will protect you from rising prices. Is that true? Most…
Janet Yellen Fights the Tide of Falling Interest
byOn Wednesday Dec 16, Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen announced that the Fed was raising the federal funds rate by 25 basis points. Let’s…
Can’t argue with a confident man
by“I can say therefore with confidence – and without any complacency – that we will secure the return of inflation to 2% without undue…
The Fed’s in a bind
byOne can understand the Fed’s frustration over the failure of its interest rate policy, and its desire to escape the zero bound. However, since…
But what does it mean?
by“Risk is what’s left over when you think you’ve thought of everything.” – Carl Richards. By the time this financial crisis is over, a…
Yield Purchasing Power: $100M Today Matches $100K in 1979
byI wrote a story about poor Clarence who retired in 1979, and even poorer Larry who retired last year. I created these characters to…
THERE’S Your Hyperinflation!
byHyperinflation is commonly defined as rapidly rising prices which get out of control. For example, the Wikipedia entry begins, “In economics, hyperinflation occurs when…