central banks

Why Jim Grant Thinks It’s Time to Abolish The Fed

usissuescom Monetary Policy , , ,
By Rick Ackerman – Re-Blogged From Gold Eagle

[Jim Grant is an old-school observer of this economic age and one of its most brilliant commentators. Following is the speech he gave in accepting the 2019 Bradley Prize, which recognizes those who have helped further the principles and institutions of American exceptionalism. RA]

Ladies and gentlemen, it’s a blemish on the age that so many of us know the name of the Federal Reserve chairman. In a better world, that government functionary would be as obscure as what’s-his-name, the home plate umpire who got no arguments calling balls and strikes at Yankee Stadium the other night. Who elected the Greenspans, Bernankes, and Powells to be the arbiters of interest rates, asset prices, the rate of inflation and who knows what else? It wasn’t Alexander Hamilton. Nor was it the Fed’s own founders. If the authors of the 1913 Federal Reserve Act could return to earth to inspect their handiwork, the shock might kill them all over again.

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Slowdown Confirmed

usissuescom Foreign Policy, GDP & Employment, Monetary Policy , , , , , , , ,
By Mike Savage – Re-Blogged From Gold Eagle

I have had a rough time for the last few weeks coming up with commentary that has anything new to say. It seems that we are bombarded day after day with talk of trade wars, tariffs and counter-tariffs.

Just today, April retail and industrial production numbers came out in China and in the USA. To say the least, the numbers were uninspiring at best.

In the USA retail sales for April contracted 0.2%. Much of the weakness was in auto sales because taking the auto numbers out there was a .1% gain in April. Electronics and building materials also fell. US industrial production, which has been stagnant all year, was not expected to grow in April either. It still surprised on the downside contracting 0.5%. That is the largest monthly drop since May of 2018.

Durable consumer goods dropped 0.8%. What caught my eye, however, was production decreased for business equipment, construction supplies and business supplies. This appears to confirm that 500,000 less people are actually working today than were at the beginning of 2019 even though we have “full employment”. What a joke that is! The only reason production wasn’t hurt worse was an increase in defense and space equipment materials.

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How Fed Cycles Exponentially Reduce Long-Term Wealth Creation

usissuescom GDP & Employment, Monetary Policy , , , ,
By Daniel R. Amerman, CFA – Re-Blogged From Gold Eagle

The most historically reliable way to create long term wealth is the reinvestment of cash flows over time, as earnings are earned on earnings, which are earned on earnings.

Compound interest is the best known example, but the same principle of compounding cash flows is also the most powerful and stable source of wealth with the stocks and real estate over the long term as well.

Reinvested (and increasing) dividends are a more important and stable source of stock market wealth than price gains.  Reinvested (and increasing) net cash flows are the most stable and important source of wealth with real estate and REIT investments as well.

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Is Turkey The Snowflake That Unleashes The European Banking System Avalanche?

usissuescom Foreign Policy, Monetary Policy , , , , , , ,
By Mark O’Byrne – Re-Blogged From Gold Eagle

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Italy Is Latest Country Seeking To Bring Their People’s Gold Home

usissuescom Foreign Policy, Monetary Policy, Stocks & Commodities , , , , , , ,
By Mark O’Byrne – Re-Blogged From Gold Eagle

Gold Is A “Reserve Of Safety” – Mario Draghi

By Virginia Filder for Gold Telegraph

European Central Bank’s President Mario Draghi recently announced that the ECB would be required to approve any management of gold reserves within the euro zone countries.

The statement was specifically directed at two Italian members. Why was Italy singled out?

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World’s Monetary Reserves And The End Of An Era

usissuescom Foreign Policy, Monetary Policy , , , , ,
By Hugo Salinas Price – Re-Blogged From Gold Eagle

We had been observing the evolution of the total of Central Bank Monetary Reserves for several years, and noted a peak on August 2, 2014, when these Reserves reached a maximum of the equivalent of $12.032 Trillion dollars, according to Bloomberg.

As of April, 2019, a review of Central Bank Monetary Reserves, according to Bloomberg, yields some interesting information.

In August 2014, the dollar amount of CB Monetary Reserves was, as we just said, $12.032 Trillion dollars, and as of April 19, 2019, CB Monetary Reserves had fallen by $479 Billion dollars, to $11.553 Trillion dollars.

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