Financial Markets

As long as there is still room for pushing the market interest rate down even further, the chances are reasonably good that the boom continues, and that the bust will be postponed into the future.

When operating in an easy money regime, finding investments capable of providing reasonable returns becomes difficult to near impossible. Low risk vehicles are bid down to near-zero returns, pushing investors into ever riskier vehicles to generate enough return to cover objectives.

The Fed overestimated the robustness of the economy, underestimated the level of addiction of the markets to cheap money, and it was way too quick to proclaim a “full recovery” from the crisis.

While some governments have sought to wage war against cryptocurrencies, Switzerland is striving to become a "crypto-nation." 

A new banking crisis is not only in the making, for which the repo problem serves as an early warning, but it could escalate quite rapidly.

There seems to be an increasing consensus that a global recession is coming soon. The good news is that the Spanish private sector is much better prepared than it was in 2007.

Central banks pretend all these benefits come at no cost to anyone. Unfortunately, we all ultimately pay the price. 

As I learned growing up in Allegheny County, the sign that reads, "Keep out, Property of Allegheny County," does not refer only to those who live outside the county.

Economist Bob Murphy joins Jeff Deist to make sense of the nonsensical world of negative interest rates.