Anti-growth policies hurt investors

The stall-out in the U.S. economy and in most major world economies has baffled policymakers. No matter what they try in today’s economic environment, it hasn’t worked for more than a short period of time. Quantitative easing appeared to work when first tried during the Great Recession, but now, as Japan and Europe have found, […]

Barone: Housing doldrums a supply problem

One of the key indicators of U.S. economic health is housing – both the turnover of the existing housing stock and the construction of new units. Existing home sales, new home sales, and housing starts all peaked earlier this year. Given the health of the U.S. consumer, as vividly demonstrated in the employment and auto […]

Rising wages: Is Wal-Mart a precursor?

Originally published on Reno Gazette Journal’s website, http://www.rgj.com/story/money/business/2015/03/06/rising-wages-wal-mart-precursor/24537471/ For the past 18 months, the labor markets have been telling us to be bullish on the U.S. economy as the healing in that market precipitated economic strength. Those who could read those signals had a significant time advantage in the markets, as those signs emerged months […]

What to Expect from Jackson Hole: “Party On”

In the past, the Fed’s Jackson Hole Symposium produced some new and controversial proposals.  Two years ago, for example, then Chair Bernanke introduced QE3.  And, the financial markets loved it.  So, what can we expect from this Jackson Hole Symposium? Given the stances that Yellen has taken throughout her short tenure as Chair, it would […]