At this time of year, it seems that everyone has their own special wishes as we approach the end of one year and the beginning of another.  I thought I would share a few of mine with you.  I wish… …the US pols would wake up and serve their country honorably instead of themselves dishonorably. .

Today, the Federal Reserve announced that it will start “Operation Twist,” selling shorter term securities and buying longer term securities. This is another in the continuing move towards ‘financial repression’ as recently discussed in a recent International Monetary Fund paper from Carmen Reinhart and Belen Sprancia .  Basically, financial repression is a conscious policy by.

While experts ponder what might happen to the financial markets and the real economy should the US default – even for a day – on its US Treasury payments, a larger issue is being missed by some:  The practical impacts of US Treasury downgrade to AA+. Default is, of course, more worrisome because it would.

Reaction to Dr. Bernanke’s latest press conference (June 22) has been rather more biting than his first conference last April. A blog on Forbes.com put it less than mildly:  Bernanke Admits He’s Clueless on Soft Patch On Bloomberg.com: Bernanke Public Approval Declilnes to Lowest with Too-Slow Economy in Poll, as if Dr. B is actually.