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Thursday, June 15, 2006

Unemployment Rate Drops

Oh, there are fewer jobs available... it's just that workers are leaving the state so the unemployment goes elsewhere.

Meanwhile, Ford Motor Company is exporting more jobs.

If enough employers close up shop and enough people leave the state, Michigan will become a full employment state and a shining example for the rest of the country... at least statistically.

What did Disraeli say?

Wednesday, June 14, 2006

Irwin Keller Says

Inflation is not the worst thing.

Federal Reserve - Function, Form or What?

In its own words:

As you can see, money is created in our economy in two ways that are different but related. The Federal Reserve begins the process by creating "raw money" when it buys a Treasury security on the open market. The banking system can then expand this amount of money by lending it.

On the other hand, if the Federal Reserve sees the nation is threatened with inflation, it may sell some of the securities in its portfolio. Buyers pay the Fed for these securities out of their bank accounts. At this point, places like Trustworthy Bank and Reliable Savings and Loan have less money to lend. In this way, the Federal Reserve removes money from the economy since the money paid to the Fed does not go back into any sort of bank account.

A second way in which the Federal Reserve can influence the economy is by raising or lowering the discount rate, the interest rate charged financial institutions when they borrow reserves from the Fed. Although seldom used, discount rate changes can be powerful signals of the direction of monetary policy.

The Federal Reserve can also have a powerful impact on the flow of money and credit by either raising or lowering reserve requirements, the percentage of their deposits that financial institutions must keep on reserve. If the Fed lowers reserve requirements, this can lead to more money being injected into the economy since it frees up funds that were previously set aside. On the other hand, if the Fed raises reserve requirements, it reduces the amount of money that institutions are free to loan out or invest. However, the Fed is cautious about changing reserve requirements and has done so only occasionally because of the dramatic impact it can have on both financial institutions and the economy.

Two points when you look at the chart below for the past 20 years:
  1. you have to go back 15 years to find rates as high as they are today (except for 2001 when the Fed precipitated a recession)
  2. during the 15 years from 3/86 to 3/01, the rate was change 28 times; during the 5 years from 3/01 to today, the rate also has changed 28 times - three times the frequency of the previous 15 years - the Federal Reserve has completely changed its role and become an activist organization trying to control the economy.

HISTORICAL DISCOUNT RATE*

Period in Effect
Percent Per
Annum
Percent
Surcharge**

04/21/86 to 07/10/86

6.50

0

07/11/86 to 08/20/86

6

0

08/21/86 to 09/07/87

5.50

0

09/08/87 to 08/08/88

6

0

08/09/88 to 02/23/89

6.50

0

02/24/89 to 12/18/90

7

0

12/19/90 to 01/31/91

6.50

0

02/01/91 to 04/29/91

6

0

04/30/91 to 09/12/91

5.50

0

09/13/91 to 11/05/91

5

0

11/06/91 to 12/22/91

4.50

0

12/23/91 to 07/01/92

3.50

0

07/02/92 to 05/16/94

3

0

05/17/94 to 08/17/94

3.50

0

08/18/94 to 11/15/94

4

0

11/16/94 to 02/01/95

4.75

0

02/02/95 to 01/30/96

5.25

0

01/31/96 to 10/14/98

5

0

10/15/98 to 11/18/98

4.75

0

11/19/98 to 08/24/99

4.50

0

08/25/99 to 11/17/99

4.75

0

11/18/99 to 02/02/00

5

0

02/03/00 to 03/20/00

5.25

0

03/21/00 to 05/17/00

5.50

0

05/18/00 to 01/03/01

6

0

01/04/01 to 01/30/01

5.50

0

01/31/01 to 03/19/01

5

0

03/20/01 to 04/17/01

4.50

0

04/18/01 to 05/16/01

4

0

05/17/01 to 06/27/01

3.50

0

06/28/01 to 08/21/01

3.25

0

08/22/01 to 09/16/01

3

0

09/17/01 to 10/02/01

2.50

0

10/03/01 to 11/06/01

2

0

11/07/01 to 12/12/01

1.50

0

12/13/01 to 11/06/02

1.25

0

11/07/02 to 01/08/03 .75 0

01/09/03 to 06/25/03

2.25

0

06/26/03 to 06/29/04 2.0 0
06/30/04 to 08/09/04 2.25 0
08/10/04 to 09/20/04 2.50 0
09/21/04 to 11/09/04 2.75 0
11/10/04 to 12/13/04 3.00 0
12/14/04 to 02/01/05 3.25 0
02/02/05 to 03/21/05 3.50 0
03/22/05 to 05/02/05 3.75 0

05/03/05 to 06/29/05

4.00 0
06/30/05 to 08/08/05 4.25 0

08/09/05 to 09/19/05

4.50 0
09/20/05 to 10/31/05 4.75 0
11/01/05 to 12/12/05 5.00 0
12/13/05 to 02/01/06 5.25 0
02/02/06 to 03/27/06 5.50 0
03/28/06 to 05/09/06 5.75 0
05/10/06 to present 6.00 0

Tuesday, June 13, 2006

Friday, June 09, 2006

Excessive Spending - It's All Related

Economists say that the Current Account deficit doesn't matter... and may be a good thing. But there is agreement that inflation is a bad thing. No connection, huh?

In a report released Thursday, William Powers, managing director of PIMCO's portfolio management and investment strategy groups, said the bond management firm has increased its currency exposure to 5 percent from 3 percent.

The fund was constrained to limit its currency exposure to 3 percent in the past because of volatility in the currency market.

"Today with the likelihood that the dollar is about to embark on its next downward leg, PIMCO's Investment Committee has increased the tolerance for currency exposures," said Powers.

PIMCO will also maintain a diversified portfolio to include the yen, euro, and emerging market currencies.

Overall, Powers has a bearish outlook on the dollar, saying the magnitude of the U.S. currency's downtrend is "as great as 20-25 percent, and perhaps greater than that."

With the Federal Reserve expected to pause its monetary tightening soon, Power said the markets would refocus on the large U.S. current account deficit, currently at 7 percent of gross domestic product. The current account is a measure of international trade, in physical goods and international transactions.

The roughly $805 billion U.S. current account gap has contributed to dollar weakness in three of the last five years.

He also cited the diminished appetite for the greenback and other U.S. assets by various central banks including oil producers whose revenues are dollar-denominated.

So, let's see, current account deficit is good and inflation is bad, but current account deficit seems to be contributing to the weakness of the dollar which makes imported items... such as oil?... more expensive which contributes to inflation which is bad.

Oh, these economists are so much smarter than the rest of us because they can see that the current account deficit is good... and that the actions of the Federal Reserve Board to raise interest rates and stifle the economy are needed because it is their job to do something about inflation which is bad... and the current account deficit is good... but the weakness of the dollar will reduce the current account deficit because U.S. products will be cheaper... and that is bad because U.S. employment will increase as we buy fewer imports... and, oh well....

Thursday, June 08, 2006

Recession

Okay, others are thinking it. I'm saying it. Michigan is in a recession. Housing markets elsewhere are tanking. Just talked with my wife's brother-in-law in Virginia. The spigot just got turned off there.

Ben Bernanke et al at the Federal Reserve has just cost the U.S. taxpayers billions of dollars and he feels good about it.

That's what happens when the government tries to run the economy.

Monday, June 05, 2006

Oh, Well....

DJIA11048.72 -199.15 (-1.77%)
NASDAQ2169.62 -49.79 (-2.24%)
NYSE8145.53 -159.72 (-1.92%)
S&P 5001265.29 -22.93 (-1.78%)

Our economy has reaped ample rewards in recent years from the achievement and maintenance of price stability. Although challenges confront us, as they always do, I am confident that we will be able to preserve those hard-won benefits while promoting sustainable economic growth.

-- Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke

Uh huh, yeah, uh huh.

Friday, June 02, 2006

Excessive Spending - Too Much Equals Too Little

Having said several times that the Fed's wisdom in raising interet rates should be challenged, it seems that others are coming on board:

From CNNMoney.com

While investors were hoping for a weak number that might lead the Fed to stop raising interest rates, one analyst said the jobs number was so small that it causes concern the economy may be headed for downturn.

'I think this was a horrible number," said Briggs, "It means the economy is falling down."

Briggs said the low number overshadowed any positive effect a halt in interest rate hikes might have.

"Yippee, the Fed might pause," he said with more than a tinge of sarcasm. "I'm a growth guy."

Other analysts shared Briggs' view.

"It was like, 'Wow,'" said Hugh Johnson, chairman of the asset management company Johnson Illington Advisors. "What we're seeing today is the 'R' jitters."

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There is always an easy solution to every human problem—neat, plausible, and wrong.
Henry Louis Mencken (1880–1956)
“The Divine Afflatus,” A Mencken Chrestomathy, chapter 25, p. 443 (1949)
... and one could add "not all human problems really are."
It was beautiful and simple, as truly great swindles are.
- O. Henry
... The Government is on course for an embarrassing showdown with the European Union, business groups and environmental charities after refusing to guarantee that billions of pounds of revenue it stands to earn from carbon-permit trading will be spent on combating climate change.
The Independent (UK)

Tracking Interest Rates

Tracking Interest Rates

FEDERAL RESERVE & HOUSING

SEARCH BLOG: FEDERAL RESERVE for full versions... or use the Blog Archive pulldown menu.

February 3, 2006
Go back to 1999-2000 and see what the Fed did. They are following the same pattern for 2005-06. If it ain't broke, the Fed will fix it... and good!
August 29, 2006 The Federal Reserve always acts on old information... and is the only cause of U.S. recessions.
December 5, 2006 Last spring I wrote about what I saw to be a sharp downturn in the economy in the "rustbelt" states, particularly Michigan.
March 28, 2007
The Federal Reserve sees no need to cut interest rates in the light of adverse recent economic data, Ben Bernanke said on Wednesday.
The Fed chairman said ”to date, the incoming data have supported the view that the current stance of policy is likely to foster sustainable economic growth and a gradual ebbing in core inflation”.

July 21, 2007 My guess is that if there is an interest rate change, a cut is more likely than an increase. The key variables to be watching at this point are real estate prices and the inventory of unsold homes.
August 11, 2007 I suspect that within 6 months the Federal Reserve will be forced to lower interest rates before housing becomes a black hole.
September 11, 2007 It only means that the overall process has flaws guaranteeing it will be slow in responding to changes in the economy... and tend to over-react as a result.
September 18, 2007 I think a 4% rate is really what is needed to turn the economy back on the right course. The rate may not get there, but more cuts will be needed with employment rates down and foreclosure rates up.
October 25, 2007 How long will it be before I will be able to write: "The Federal Reserve lowered its lending rate to 4% in response to the collapse of the U.S. housing market and massive numbers of foreclosures that threaten the banking and mortgage sectors."
November 28, 2007 FED VICE CHAIRMAN DONALD KOHN
"Should the elevated turbulence persist, it would increase the possibility of further tightening in financial conditions for households and businesses," he said.

"Uncertainties about the economic outlook are unusually high right now," he said. "These uncertainties require flexible and pragmatic policymaking -- nimble is the adjective I used a few weeks ago."
http://www.reuters.com/

December 11, 2007 Somehow the Fed misses the obvious.
fed_rate_moves_425_small.gif
[Image from: CNNMoney.com]
December 13, 2007 [from The Christian Science Monitor]
"The odds of a recession are now above 50 percent," says Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Economy.com. "We are right on the edge of a recession in part because of the Fed's reluctance to reduce interest rates more aggressively." [see my comments of September 11]
January 7, 2008 The real problem now is that consumers can't rescue the economy and manufacturing, which is already weakening, will continue to weaken. We've gutted the forces that could avoid a downturn. The question is not whether there will be a recession, but can it be dampened sufficiently so that it is very short.
January 11, 2008 This is death by a thousand cuts.
January 13, 2008 [N.Y. Times]
“The question is not whether we will have a recession, but how deep and prolonged it will be,” said David Rosenberg, the chief North American economist at Merrill Lynch. “Even if the Fed’s moves are going to work, it will not show up until the later part of 2008 or 2009.
January 17, 2008 A few days ago, Anna Schwartz, nonagenarian economist, implicated the Federal Reserve as the cause of the present lending crisis [from the Telegraph - UK]:
The high priestess of US monetarism - a revered figure at the Fed - says the central bank is itself the chief cause of the credit bubble, and now seems stunned as the consequences of its own actions engulf the financial system. "The new group at the Fed is not equal to the problem that faces it," she says, daring to utter a thought that fellow critics mostly utter sotto voce.
January 22, 2008 The cut has become infected and a limb is in danger. Ben Bernanke is panicking and the Fed has its emergency triage team cutting rates... this time by 3/4%. ...

What should the Federal Reserve do now? Step back... and don't be so anxious to raise rates at the first sign of economic improvement.
Individuals and businesses need stability in their financial cost structures so that they can plan effectively and keep their ships afloat. Wildly fluctuating rates... regardless of what the absolute levels are... create problems. Either too much spending or too much fear. It's just not that difficult to comprehend. Why has it been so difficult for the Fed?

About Me

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Michigan, United States
Air Force (SAC) captain 1968-72. Retired after 35 years of business and logistical planning, including running a small business. Two sons with advanced degrees; one with a business and pre-law degree. Beautiful wife who has put up with me for 4 decades. Education: B.A. (Sociology major; minors in philosopy, English literature, and German) M.S. Operations Management (like a mixture of an MBA with logistical planning)