“It's a real public service to have debates that bring top-tier participants together and add the sizzle of prize fight competition to a discussion of issues of first-order importance.”
Fed Mostly Got It Right During Crisis Frederic Mishkin with Tom Keene, Surveillance Monday, Bloomberg TV, May 3, 2012Mishkin talks about central bank monetary policy, the economy and the financial markets.
Columbia’s Mishkin Interview Excerpt Frederic Mishkin with Tom Keene, Surveillance Monday, Bloomberg TV, March 28, 2011Mishkin discusses the U.S. financial crisis that began in 2007 and the role of the Federal Reserve to stem the turmoil.
Monetary Policy Strategy: Lessons from the Crisis Frederic Mishkin, National Bureau of Economic Research, December 2010How the financial crisis has changed the thinking of both macro/monetary economists and central bankers, and the extent to which the science of monetary policy needs to be altered.
Is Monetary Policy Effective During Financial Crises? Frederic Mishkin, American Economic Review, May 2009Monetary policy is more potent during financial crises because aggressive monetary policy easing can make adverse feedback loops less likely.
Exchange Rate Pass-Through and Monetary Policy Frederic Mishkin, Norges Bank Conference on Monetary Policy, March 7, 2008How much of a risk to inflation is posed by a depreciation of the domestic currency?
John Taylor Blog John Taylor’s investment and trading ideas—a tracking web blog.
Weak Dollar May Help Reduce U.S. Trade Deficit, FX Concepts' Taylor Says Allison Bennett and Betty Liu, Bloomberg, November 11, 2010The U.S. is correct in pursuing a weak-dollar policy because of the need to fix the nation’s trade deficit, according to John Taylor, founder of FX Concepts LLC, the world’s biggest foreign-exchange hedge fund.
It’s Time to Buy Dollar, Hedge Fund Says William Kemble-Diaz, Wall Street Journal, June 19, 2012A decline in global reserves almost always means a strong dollar.
FX’s John Taylor on US Dollar, Currency Market John Taylor with Betty Liu and Dominic Chu, In the Loop, Bloomberg TV, August 2, 2011Taylor discusses the prospects for the dollar to remain the world's reserve currency, the outlook for the euro and his investment strategy.
Fed to Signal Stimulus, FX Concepts’ Taylor Says John Taylor with Sara Eisen, Money Moves, Bloomberg TV, July 27, 2012Taylor talks about the European debt crisis, the U.S. economy and Federal Reserve policy.
Gold and the Wicked Magicians Steve Forbes, Forbes, November 1, 2012Linking the value of money to gold removes a huge source of Big Government’s power. No longer can government confiscate wealth by stealth by devaluing your money.
Gold Can Save Us From Disaster Steve Forbes, Forbes, October 3, 2012A new gold standard is crucial. The disasters that the Federal Reserve and other central banks are inflicting on us with their funny-money policies are enormous and underappreciated.
Fed's Plan Defines 'Insanity' Steve Forbes with Adam Johnson and Trish Regan, Street Smart, Bloomberg TV, September 19, 2012Forbes on quantitative easing.
The Gold Standard Is Coming Steve Forbes, Forbes, September 5, 2012The Fed’s forced suppression of organic interest rates has made the pricing of credit impossible to figure. Under a properly functioning gold standard the Fed’s penchant for rigging interest rates would be sharply curbed, if not eliminated.
The Intellectual Bankruptcy of Ben Bernanke Steve Forbes, Forbes, September 5, 2012The Fed’s forced suppression of organic interest rates has made the pricing of credit impossible to figure. Under a properly functioning gold standard the Fed’s penchant for rigging interest rates would be sharply curbed, if not eliminated.
Fix the U.S. Dollar Crisis Alix Steel, The Street, January 12, 2012When you do harm to your currency, when you keep interest rates artificially low, which is a way of subsidizing government debt, it hurts small businesses.
Weak Dollar = Weak Recovery Steve Forbes, Forbes, September 29, 2009A pernicious myth is at work among economists and policymakers, crippling a more vigorous economic recovery. It's the idea that a stable dollar means austerity and economic weakness.
Against: James Grant
Piece of My Mind James Grant, Grant’s Interest Rate Observer, March 23, 2012A speech given at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, Grant criticizes the Fed for exchanging central banking for a kind of central planning and the gold standard for what he calls a Ph.D. standard.
The Scourge of the Faith-Based Paper Dollar Holman W. Jenkins, Jr., Wall Street Journal, July 16, 2011Grant foresees a new American gold standard despite Wall Street's stake in monetary chaos.
Fed Policy at War With Market Mechanism, Grant Says James Grant with Tome Keene and Sara Eisen, Surveillance, Bloomberg TV, November 29, 2012We invest in a hall of mirrors. There is systematic of manipulation of values carried out by central banks the world over.
Requiem for the Dollar James Grant, Wall Street Journal, December 5, 2009A proper gold standard promotes balance in the financial and commercial affairs of participating nations. The pure paper system promotes and perpetuates imbalances.
After the Crash: Helping the US Economy Right Itself James Grant, Foreign Affairs, November/December 2008The truth is that the current mess is a symptom of persistent financial derangement, in particular a sickness of the dollar.
The Falling Dollar: Should We Worry? McKinsey Executive Roundtable Series in International Economics, CFR, December 18, 2007Roundtable speakers: James D. Grant (at 0:20:00), Richard H. Clarida, Benn Steil, John B. Taylor.
ARTICLES FOR & AGAINST
FOR
Needed: Plain Talk About the Dollar Christina Romer, New York Times, May 21, 2011Our exchange rate is just a price — the price of the dollar in terms of other currencies. It is not controlled by anyone. And a high price for the dollar, which is what we mean by a strong dollar, is not always desirable.
The Necessity of a Lower Dollar and the Route There Dean Baker, Center for Economic and Policy Research, February 2012The only plausible route for reducing the trade deficit is lowering the value of the dollar.
Strong Dollar Advocates Make a Weak Case Evan Schinidman and Daniel Nadler, Bloomberg, January 24, 2012So who really wants a strong dollar? While some American consumers might benefit, most producers wouldn’t and almost all equity investors would be harmed.
The Dollar and the Deficits C. Fred Bergsten, Foreign Affairs, November/December 2009The global economic crisis has revealed the folly of large U.S. budget and trade deficits, as well as of the strong dollar that makes them possible. If it is serious about recovery, the United States must balance the budget, stimulate private saving, and embrace a declining dollar.
A Falling Dollar Will Mean a Faster U.S. Recovery Martin Feldstein, Wall Street Journal, August 1, 2011There are powerful forces that will cause the dollar to decline over the next several years. The declining dollar can strengthen the pace of our recovery but only if the reduced foreign demand for dollar bonds doesn’t trigger very large increases in U.S. interest rates.
AGAINST
Weak Dollar, Strong Dollar Emil W. Henry, Jr., American Spectator, April 11, 2012The US strong dollar policy is not strong enough. The Obama administration says it supports a strong dollar, but its major fiscal initiatives suggest otherwise. As our currency erodes, the U.S. strong dollar policy needs to be enhanced so those who claim its mantle are held accountable to achieve it.
Obama Needs to ‘Pull a Rubin’ on the Dollar Andy Kessler, Wall Street Journal, November 23, 2012What revived the 1990s’ economy wasn’t higher taxes, but a strong greenback and credible Treasury secretary.
A Sound Dollar is the Key to Recovery John Chapman, The American, October 27, 2008‘Sound’ money means a stable-valued currency and a price system that reflects true scarcities. When the dollar is strong, it retains purchasing power over time against goods and other currencies.
The Weak Dollar Problem Steve Hanke, Globe Asia, May 2011Thanks to the Fed’s weak dollar policy, the U.S. faces an inflation problem and so does the rest of the world. The weak dollar and the lack of “flexibility” — properly understood — also threaten the free flow of capital and the stability of the international monetary system.
Gauging the Dollar Decline Benn Steil interview, Council on Foreign Relations, October 19, 2009CFR Senior Fellow Steil says continued weakness in the dollar could be costly for the U.S. economy since the United States will spend more on critical imports like energy, which it cannot produce enough of domestically to meet demand
The Depreciating Dollar: Economic Effects and Policy Response Craig K. Elwell, Congressional Research Service, February 23, 2012This report examines several factors that are likely to influence the dollar’s medium-term path, what effects a depreciating dollar could have on the economy, and how alternative policy measures that could be taken by the Federal Reserve, the Treasury, and the 112th Congress might influence the dollar’s path.
The Federal Reserve: CNBC Explains Mark Koba, CNBC, January 28, 2011The Federal Reserve System—or the "Fed" as it's known—arguably plays the most crucial role in the U.S. economy. Yet most people have little idea how the Fed works, what it actually does and why its decisions have so much impact.
Monetary Policy Basics Federal Reserve education.orgThe term ‘monetary policy’ refers to what the Federal Reserve does to influence the amount of money and credit in the U.S. economy.
How to Think About the U.S. Dollar Desmond Lachman, The American, March 17, 2009It has become fashionable to predict the imminent collapse of the dollar. What might really happen?
Why the Dollar’s Reign Is Near an End Barry Eichengreen, Wall Street Journal, March 1, 2011For decades the dollar has served as the world's main reserve currency, but, argues Barry Eichengreen, it will soon have to share that role. Here's why—and what it will mean for international markets and companies.
A Primer on Reserve Currencies Investopedia, February 7, 2013The currency most commonly held as a foreign exchange reserve is the U.S. dollar, which, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), comprised nearly 62% of allocated reserves as of late 2012.
TRADE
Trade Primer: Qs and As on Trade Concepts, Performance, and Policy CRS Report for Congress, March 27, 2007This report is divided into four sections in a Q&A format—trade concepts, US trade performance, formulation of US trade policy, and trade and investment issues.
QUANTITATIVE EASING
QE, or Not QE? Economist, July 14, 2012An assessment of the most controversial weapon in the central banker’s armory.
Quantitative Easing: Entrance and Exit Strategies Alan Blinder, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis Review, November/December 2010Why quantitative easing might be appropriate, how it is supposed to work, and the Fed’s exit strategy.
ZERO INTEREST RATE
Why Are Interest Rates Being Kept at a Low Level? Current FAQs, Federal ReserveThe Federal Reserve took extraordinary actions in response to the financial crisis to help stabilize the U.S. economy and financial system. These actions included reducing the level of short-term interest rates to near zero.
How Does Monetary Policy Influence Inflation and Employment? Current FAQs, Federal ReserveIn the short run, monetary policy influences inflation and the economy-wide demand for goods and services--and, therefore, the demand for the employees who produce those goods and services--primarily through its influence on the financial conditions facing households and firms.
The Downside of the Fed’s Zero Interest Rate Policy David Shulman, US News & World Report, April 30, 2012What began as an emergency measure to support the entire financial system in late 2008 has seemingly become permanent policy at the Fed.
The Pain of Zero Interest Rates John Makin, American Enterprise Institute, February 12, 2012The current economic environment of low—virtually zero—interest rates has hit savers hard, but the US Federal Reserve’s accommodative monetary policy is actually having a stabilizing effect on the economy. Abruptly raising interest rates could harm economic growth and the housing market.
GOLD STANDARD
The Gold Standard: The Case for Another Look Sean Fieler and Jeffrey Bell, Wall Street Journal, May 7, 2010The U.S. could return to a gold standard, a system that would not only prevent the government from running chronic budget deficits but would also curb attempts to manipulate the value of the dollar for political reasons.
Why the Gold Standard Is the World’s Worst Economic Idea, in 2 Charts Matthew O’Brien, Atlantic, August 26, 2012The gold standard prevents the central bank from fighting recessions by outsourcing monetary policy decisions to how much gold we have -- which, in turn, depends on our trade balance and on how much of the shiny rock we can dig up.
A New Gold Standard Is Being Born Ambrose Evans-Pritchard, Telegraph, January 17, 2013The world is moving step by step towards a de facto Gold Standard, without any meetings of G20 leaders to announce the idea or bless the project.
Group of 20 Vows to Let Markets Set Currency Values David Herszenhorn, New York Times, February 16, 2013In a concerted move to quiet fears of a so-called currency war, finance officials from the world’s largest industrial and emerging economies expressed their commitment on Saturday to ‘market-determined exchange rate systems and exchange rate flexibility.’
Group of 7 Says It Will Let Markets Decide Currency Values James Kanter and Annie Lowrey, New York Times, February 12, 2013Seven top industrial nations, including the United States and Germany, pledged on Tuesday to let foreign exchange markets determine the value of their currencies.