Obama’s FDR Moment

The FDR moment occurred in 1933 when FDR took the reigns of monetary policy from an ineffective Fed and sparked a robust recovery in aggregate demand. The Fed had allowed aggregate demand to collapse for three years when FDR responded. He signaled that he wanted the price level to return to its pre-crisis level (i.e. increased expectations of higher nominal spending) and acted upon it by having the Treasury Department devalue the gold content of the dollar. This dramatically increased the monetary base and spurred a sharp increase in aggregate demand. So how could President Obama have his FDR moment

A Primer on Peak Oil

I ran across three separate articles on peak oil at well-regarded financial news sites today: The Economist, The Financial Times and Le Figaro. I thought I’d give you a run down of what they were saying and what it means for the economy and investing

Chart of the day: Job Creation 2007-2012

Here’s what I see: job destruction during a cyclical downturn followed by massive job destruction after the Lehman failure followed by a steady climb toward tepid job creation. Take a look

Geithner tells Bloomberg that Obama will give him the sack if Obama is re-elected

I had a bet with a bunch of fellow market watchers back in early 2010 when Geithner was getting it from all sides as to how long he would last. Some people were saying he couldn’t make it through the second year. Geithner outlasted Summers, Goolsbee, Romer, and Orszag. Wow!

Video: Mockumentary Presents: Politics in America

An in-depth (and cynical) look at the current political environment in America, from the Occupy Wall Street protesters to the President’s reaction to the Republican Primary via Omid Malekan, creator of the Quantitative Easing Explained and European Crisis Explained videos

Don’t change the change!

The Obama Hope and Change Fail

Gallup reports that Congress’ job approval is entrenched at a record low of 13%. Here’s what I noticed, however

Felix Zulauf says the die is cast. Is it?

I was just looking at Barry Ritholtz’s synopsis of Felix Zulauf’s observations from an in-office interview Barry had with him and I have to say I agree with the man 100%. But is the die cast? Are we headed into something much worse

China will retaliate if US imposes sanctions

Professor Professor Xiang Songzuo from the Centre for International Monetary Research at Renmin University in Beijing told the BBC yesterday there would definitely be retaliation if the US moves to sanctions against China. If this scenario occurs, wouldn’t this be similar to the trade dynamic from the 1930s

Herbert Hoover or Barack Obama: “the major forces of the depression now lie outside of the United States”

I think these two quotes sound pretty similar. They both blame Europe for the world’s economic problems. The inference is that all would be well if it weren’t for those Europeans

A Tale of Two Speeches

Dollar continues to firm amid choppy market conditions; US futures point to modest decline. President Obama announces bigger package than expected; fiscal stimulus may be USD supportive. China’s CPI report shows that inflation has likely peaked; Mexico’s minutes may mark a dovish shift

Mosler: The Speech that President Obama Should Make

Warren Mosler has three proposals specifically designed to get sales up to make sure business has a good paying job for anyone willing and able to work. He arguess that’s good for businesses and all the people who work for them and says these proposals are bipartisan. His view is that they are supported by Americans ranging from Tea Party supporters to the Progressive left, and everyone in between

Achuthan: “It’s Too Late” for Obama on Jobs

ECRI’s underlying message is this: we are in a decade-long post-credit crisis struggle which will mean high unemployment even if policy makers focused on jobs, which they have not