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A favorite argument of those who support fair trade—as opposed to free trade—is that Americans won’t mind paying higher consumer prices due to tariffs because it will help create more jobs. → Read More
Recent increases in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) have many Americans worried that the U.S. could be returning to an era of high inflation. Given that higher food and gasoline prices—items that are always in high demand—have been two of the main drivers of the recent CPI surge, these fears are perfectly understandable. → Read More
COVID-19 has now infected more than 35 million Americans and claimed the lives of more than 600,000.REF After the introduction of the vaccines, COVID-19 cases and deaths declined significantly, although there has been a recent uptick in cases due to the Delta variant. → Read More
If Republicans support Sen. Jeff Merkley’s (D-Oreg.) new bill, they are essentially voting to impose interest rate caps on a large segment of the credit market. Price controls - even on interest rates - have a dismal record. They invariably harm more consumers than they help. → Read More
Government controls on consumer prices—the maximum or minimum that companies are allowed to charge—are nearly as old as recorded history. → Read More
Chopra is the nominee to head the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Senators should not confirm him without answers to their questions. → Read More
In 2010, a Democratic-controlled Congress established price controls and new routing regulations on debit card transactions with the Durbin Amendment (Section 1075 of the Dodd-Frank Act). Republicans appear set to extend this harmful policy to the credit-card market. → Read More
President Biden met with financial regulators this week to discuss how climate change may adversely affect the financial sector. → Read More
The Biden Administration is actively seeking to “combat” climate change through financial regulation. → Read More
President Biden's Executive Order on Climate-Related Financial Risk directs officials to submit reports (by November) on how to address climate change with financial regulations. The order exposes one of the main flaws in the U.S. regulatory framework - enormous levels of agency discretion. → Read More
Politico reports that the Fed is taking “what may be the first significant step toward launching its own virtual currency,” a move that the American Bankers Association opposes. Still, according to Politico, a “fully digital version of the U.S. dollar” now has bipartisan interest in Congress “because of its potential benefits for consumers who don’t have bank accounts.” → Read More
A central bank digital currency now has bipartisan interest in Congress because a CBDC might benefit consumers without bank accounts. Poor federal policies contribute to the unbanked problem, and the potential benefits of a CBDC are overstated relative to benefits of private market solutions. → Read More
First, gas prices spiked. Then lumber prices took off. By April, the Consumer Price Index was 4.2% higher than in April 2020. Now everyone is worried about a return to the double-digit inflation of the 1970s. While ‘70s-grade inflation is still a long way off, it’s good to be cautious. The headline figure from the CPI report—the 4.2% increase from last April—is the largest year-to-year increase… → Read More
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen’s comments about interest rates triggered inflation fears in many quarters this week. Yet, much like a similar incident last month, what she said really wasn’t anything earth-shattering. → Read More
On June 6, Yellen told a reporter: If we ended up with a slightly higher interest rate environment, it would actually be a plus for society's point of view and the Fed's point of view. → Read More
As the public health emergency abates, Congress, the media, and the American public should heavily scrutinize CDC’s procedures and practices. → Read More
COVID-19 has been concentrated geographically in a small number of states. Counties with 18.4% of the U.S. population have seen nearly half of all deaths. → Read More
There never has been a substantial reduction in the scale or scope of U.S. financial regulation. → Read More
The private market has created a new technology that makes innovation possible in how we transfer money. It potentially replaces existing third party intermediaries. It is widely available and should not be taken over by any central authority. → Read More
A pro baseball player, based on age, is more likely to die in a bus accident on the way to a game than because of the coronavirus. → Read More