Financial Economics

Archive for Financial Economics

More Goofy Headlines from CNBC

But at least this one relies on a faulty theory, not ignorance of a definition.

I Give Up

Look at the title of this CNBC article.

The Fed and the Ratchet Effect

I apply Bob Higgs’ justly-famous metaphor (or is it an analogy?) to the Fed’s recent announcement that it would replace its maturing MBS holdings with more Treasury debt. My favorite part: Say what you will about Bernanke, he’s one crafty fellow. (As Bob Wenzel warns, “Don’t play poker against Bernanke.”) Whether through luck or design, […]

Robert Wenzel Charmed By Christina Romer

Ah well, we always knew RW was a pushover. He writes: WaPo’s Dana Bank reports on the remarkable departing words of the chairman of President Obama’s Council of Economic Advisers, Christina Romer. This is a must read as this honest lady lists the failures of the Keynesian economists in the White House… Normally I think […]

Krugman Beats Paulson, Loses to Murphy

Paul Krugman recently patted himself on the back for out-calling investor John Paulson. Krugman quoted from a Business Week article that said on July 1, 2010: Now [Krugman’s] warnings have taken on an even more dire tone. The threat is not merely the dreaded “double dip.” If the leaders of the developed world hold to […]

Ellen Zentner on Marketplace: Fool or Genius?

OK I was originally going to rip apart this analysis (on NPR’s Marketplace) from Ellen Zentner, senior economist at the Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi: Chairman Bernanke has come out and specifically said that one of the further measures they could do to get the economy moving was lowering that rate that they pay on excess […]

A Geek’s Geek

I always thought it was cool when people would refer to somebody as “a comedian’s comedian” or, more generally, “a [member of profession X]’s [member of profession X].” It was almost a non-falsifiable statement; if you said, “What are you talking about? That guy’s not funny at all!” the person could just roll his eyes […]

You Win Some, You Lose Some: Krugman Lives to Fight Again

I was suspicious when I read this Krugman blog post defending the current near-zero fed funds rate. Krugman used a “Mankiw Rule” (similar to the Taylor Rule) to argue that we weren’t in a bond bubble, because the economy actually “wants” negative nominal rates right now. Now the Taylor Rule (and related Mankiw Rule) give […]