Interest Rates

The End of the Easiness

You can put together as many lists of stocks and themes as you want, but overshadowing all of your investment theses will be the simple fact that in 2010 we’re going to see the End of the Easiness (apologies to Don Henley).

Punishing the Ant, Rewarding the Grasshopper

One of the more perverse features of the bailout/ rescue/ stimulus plan is the fact that ultra-low rates are doing a great deal of damage to senior citizens and those who have been saving responsibly and coninue to attempt to do so.

FOMC Statement Parsing

The FOMC’s non-event policy statement just came out.  Needless to say, no change in rates. Here are a few snippets… Interest rates will remain near zero “for an extended period”. “Information received since the Federal Open Market Committee met in November suggests that economic activity has continued to pick up and that the deterioration in…

G'Day Rates! Australia Tightens Up

Australia’s central bank raised interest rates yesterday, beginning the unwind of their credit crunch stimulus program. They are the first nation in the G-20 to do so. Like Norway and Brazil, Australia derives a great portion of its GDP from minerals and mining exports, and so is more concerned about inflation in the near-term than many other…

Bernanke: More Bank Of Japan Imitation to Come

In a widely telegraphed move, the FOMC today voted to keep Fed Funds target rate at zero. Oh, and based on the statement, don’t expect this to change anytime soon. Bernanke may have been a student of The Depression, but he is clearly a fan of the Japanese Lost Decades. All that was missing from…

FOMC Day! Get Your Programs!

I love FOMC Day!  From the moment I wake up, my stomach is filled with butterflies, really pretty purple and pink ones, as I look forward to the 2 o’clock hour.  At this appointed hour, the chairman of the world’s most secretive monetary institution descends from on high with his stone tablets, which are emblazoned…