As part of the ongoing reconfiguring and reregulating of the American financial system, the House Financial Services Committee today will take up an amendment that seeks to audit Federal Reserve monetary policy. As so many things are backward in Congress, the vote today is actually a vote on a proposal to retain a ban on audits of Fed interest rate decisions. If it is voted down, then the Ron Paul bill to audit monetary policy could see the light of day.    Read More

President and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis James Bullard said that policy makers may not start to raise rates until early 2012 while facing a “too low for two long” argument that may “weigh heavily” on the central bank.   Read More

As you may have read, the Chinese grilled OMB director Peter Orzag on the impact that the health care bill would have on the US fiscal position. As I have warned, the passing of the current bill by Congress is a negative for the US dollar and may trigger a re-evaluation of Chinese US Treasury purchases.    Read More

The US is not going to actively intervene to support the US dollar, but merely try to shape it's domestic policies to ensure a strong dollar. A free floating currency acts as a stabilizer to an economy.   Read More

US Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner has been hitting the air waves and the editorial page during his trip to the APEC conference in Singapore. From Bloomberg to CNBC, Geithner has been consistent in stating that it's very important the US maintain a strong dollar. However, he is advocating the opposite for the Asia-Pacific nations.    Read More

Over the weekend, the US dollar was pummeled as it fell against almost every major currency and every minor currency except one. Hmm, which one would that be? Before we get to that, let's run through the top seven reasons the greenback got whacked.    Read More

The headline number of 10.2% will be shouted from the mountain tops and from the voters. The Federal Reserve and the US Treasury are in the glare of the klieg lights to get something done to arrest the job losses.    Read More

The recent volatility in the markets is perplexing after what has been a very good quarter for earnings and a very good quarter for US economic growth. As my friends in the music industry say, "What's up with that?" Why are we experiencing this and what does it mean for the rest of the quarter?    Read More

It's called carry, but not like currency carry. As most know, banks can fund themselves at 0.1%-0.25% as the Federal Reserve keeps Fed Funds at 0.0%-0.25%. Then banks are incentivized to find the safest, highest return they can with this cash.    Read More

With stocks moving up over 50% from the lows, you have to wonder if this has decreased the appetite for US Treasury securities for both households and commercial banks in the current quarter.   Read More