Stock markets continued to reach record levels on Friday as investor sentiment was buoyed by reports that tax reform proposals had passed their first hurdle in the Senate. Investors also were cheered by reports that President Trump is leaning towards picking Federal Reserve Board Governor Jerome Powell as the next Chairman of the Fed’s Board of Governors. Markets undoubtedly...
Thirty years ago today, the Dow Jones Industrial Average suffered its largest single-day drop in history, losing 508 points, nearly 23% of its value. With the Dow currently hitting new records and standing at over 23,000 points, are we poised for a repeat of Black Monday? It seems as though stock market growth won’t ever end. It was only in...
Most Americans understand that saving for retirement is important. Over the past several years, increased amounts of education and understanding have helped Americans save up more and more money for retirement. Total retirements assets have risen from $11.6 trillion in 2000 to nearly $27 trillion today. Thanks to the increased focus on the importance of retirement savings, the increased...
In another sign of the growing economic bubble, Moody’s has flagged growing debt levels among Americans as a rising risk for financial institutions. Households considered to have high debt levels are those whose debt ratio is greater than 40%. Those households in the lowest income quintile have the highest percentage of high debt burdens, with over 20% facing high debt....
The safety of global systemically important banks (GSIBs) has improved significantly since the Great Recession, according to the latest Global Financial Stability Report from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), issued earlier this week. However, roughly a third of them, representing about $17 trillion in asset size, could “struggle to achieve sustainable profitability, underscoring ongoing challenges and medium-term vulnerabilities.” The IMF’s...
One of the Trump Administration’s most highly-awaited proposals is the one for tax reform. As with any reform proposal, the devil is in the details, but some of the first proposals sound good on their face. As anyone who has ever had to file taxes understands, the tax code is in serious need of reform. And while previous proposals...
Most Americans with an opinion on the subject think the free market should set interest rates, not the US Federal Reserve, according to a recent survey from the Cato Institute. “Unsurprisingly, a plurality (44 percent) of Americans have not thought much about whether Federal Reserve officials or the free-market system should primarily determine interest rates,” the report stated. “However,...
News reports recently have been full of tales of cyber attacks against financial institutions. From credit reporting bureau Equifax to the Securities and Exchange Commission, to accounting giant Deloitte, no institution seems to be safe from hackers. With a society that does an increasing amount of business online, that potential vulnerability could wreak havoc on savers and investors. More and...
Most sane investors have an inkling that financial markets are in a bubble. But just having a general sense that things aren’t right sometimes isn’t enough. Looking at actual statistics can put into perspective just how large some of these bubbles have grown. Housing Bubbles The Case-Shiller 20-City Composite Home Price Index has moved past its pre-crisis levels and has increased...
Stephen Williamson, an economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, joined critics of the US central bank last week by conceding there is no proof that massive intervention in the credit markets such as the Fed’s quantitative easing program has worked. “There appears to be no evidence that QE works either to increase inflation, if we look at...