Having committed itself to ultralow interest rates and quantitative easing, the Fed is now caught in a double bind: Continue those policies and keep pumping money into speculative, inflation-hiking commodity bets — or end them…
Given an economy gaining steam and a vast expansion in the money supply, it’s easy to assume a wave of inflation is up next. The causes of inflation, however, are anything but straightforward — which is something investors nee…
Inflation has inched higher in the past six months, but that’s not a danger sign, but rather a harbinger of improving economic conditions and a strengthening recovery. And that, in turn, should lead to higher wages and more hir…
Before the Great Recession, U.S. consumer debt had risen fairly steadily for more than a decade. With the downturn, it finally dropped…until December’s small rise. However, a longer look at the trend of ever-rising debt shows…
The Treasury has to find buyers for trillions of dollars in new bonds needed to fund the federal deficit. It hopes average citizens will pony up and invest in some $337 billion worth. But for a host of reasons, “safe” T-bonds m…