It’s been a while since Jerome Powell, the Chair of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) has been comfortable saying clearly and concisely that it was time for the Federal Reserve to lower its policy interest rate. But he did exactly that in his talk on August...

The often-stated policy goals of the Federal Reserve’s policy making group (the FOMC) are “to achieve maximum employment and inflation at the rate of 2 percent over the longer run”. These goals stem from the Federal Reserve Reform Act of 1977, legislation passed by...

In January 2024, the consumer price index, excluding food and energy – a measure of so-called “core” inflation – was 3.87 percent higher that it was 12 months ago (blue line below). The current Fed funds interest rate, the Federal Reserve’s primary policy interest...

Inflation in America is no longer a problem. That’s the story line that dominated financial markets during the final two months of 2023. Bond yields tumbled as their prices rose (see chart), and stocks enjoyed a powerful nine-week rally – an equal weighted S&P 500...

There is a belief shared by U.S. monetary policy makers and many financial market participants that a meaningful economic slowdown in the next 12-to-18 months will “fix” the inflation problem in the United States. The word “transitory” may have been stricken from the...

As long as there has been capitalism, there has been banking. As long as there has been banking, there has been debt. As long as there has been debt, there has been pressure to inflate or debase money. This book will look at the modern debate between borrowers and...

The case for farmland investment has two primary and independent drivers. First, there is a case to be made that food production will need to increase substantially over the next 30 years. Given established trends, there should be a doubling of world demand for...