Mankind can wage wars and other wasteful blunders. It is the things we can’t see like viruses that are our real enemies.
5
The new budget cuts health care, renewable energy and increases nuclear weapons. It's as if Trump can't decide if the end of times should be by pandemic, nuclear war or an environmental disaster.
On the plus side lower interest rates will reduce his families debt payments on their leveraged real estate.
13
Fact is, adjusted for inflation and productivity. Minimum wage in 2020 is $24.
Fact is, had median income remained on track during the Reagan administration. Median income in the US would be $99,800. Not the $55,400 it is.
When Americans judge their lives against those two standards. How well are they doing exactly?
8
@Steve Fact is we had a mini depression between Clinton and Obama that destroyed the US and world economy.
4
Again, Trump proves his ignorance by speaking against his Federal Reserve chairman and worsening the situation in the matter of the possibility of a virus fallout and the outrageous deficit. It's a topsy-turvy world with the GOP, president, and others spending money on walls, space forces, tax cuts, and more. Not infrastructure or getting the country on a stable economic path.
21
Send the Stable Genius to China to fix that end of our supply chain. Really. I think Only He Can Fix It.
17
There are many benefits to Just In Time manufacturing systems, it does however depend on the supply chain operating smoothly. An occasional hic up is no big deal, but a sustained outage which may happen with the Coronavirus, could rapidly effect manufacturing throughout the US. This is particularly true since we have chosen to basically 'Single Source' much of our manufacturing in China. I'm sure purchasing managers never imagined that a single event could basically shut down manufacturing in an entire country. As statisticians can tell you, just because the chances of an event happening are very very small, doesn't mean it will NEVER happen.
5
The article had a few lines about Trump's criticisms that were relatively muted. "Slammed by Trump" was not the news. The news was a review of the Fed's report. The Times has a real need to generate fire where there is none as minions do their best to stoke flames where there is no heat.
3
Can we please ween ourselves off of “globalization”?
3
Powell's reasonable and independent management of the Fed is the only reason Trump hasn't been able to destroy the economy. So, naturally Powell gets attacked relentlessly, even as he's the only thing keeping Trump in office at all. I hope Powell can hang in there until the elections, otherwise we're really hosed. If Trump replaces him with one of his idiotic sycophants, it'll be hello Great Depression -- but Trump will still blame everyone but himself, of course, like he's done all of his pathetic and cowardly life. What a sorry situation.
34
Bill Maher may het his wish after all and the economy may head into a recession
1
Why are we not talking about the Overnight Repo market, still being injected with billions of dollars, daily? This daily infusion of tens of billions of dollars, from the Federal Reserve, into this country's largest banks started in September 2019 and is still happening today. No wonder the stock market is at all-time highs.
12
@Cynthia Abra Great observation. But the bigger issue w/ the 'Repo problem' (overnight credit/liquidity crunches) is that the Fed can't sustain its own policy... and hasn't been able to find a viable solution, other than throw more debt at the problem.
The symptom is the Fed can't unwind even small portions of the $3.5T+ of debt it added as "free money" after the financial crises without spiking the short-term money markets. The root cause is that the primary market (big banks) have fewer reserves due to the Fed's negative real funds & discount rates (ordered cut by Trump).
In short, the big banks no longer have sufficient incentive to park excess reserves at the Fed... and secondary dealers (small/regional) banks are shut out of the action.
This a siren/red flag that all's not well in the money market (or big bank lending), and that Fed QEx stimuli is still propping-up/hiding many problems... including the artificially inflated equities markets you mentioned.
4
@Cynthia Abra Word on the street is that the need for liquidity in Repo was caused by Dimon withdrawal of funds in said market. Dimon knew the Fed would step in. And Dimon's bank profited.
3
If Powell is warning Congress that Trump and the GOP's rosy outlook on the economy make darken, I think we have to consider his concern conservative and not well informed because of the economic uncertainties already apparent with the coronaviruse outbreak.
What worries me is that, by casting doubt on our economic future in the near term, Trump may replace him with yet another official willing to misinform the public during a health crisis. Just what we do not need.
6
I suppose it is purely coincidental that each point of interest rate drop saves Trump over $3,000,000 per year.
32
Recessions increase the debt to GDP ratio. If tax cuts for the wealthy paid for themselves then a decrease in revenue would increase debt but the debt to GDP ratio should get smaller. It has accelerated upwards.
There are 3 simple tricks to fight the next recession.
1) Negative interest rates. However, it is risky and never been tried in the US. It is a blunt instrument.
2) More debt we likely can get up to 120% of debt to GDP like during WWII.
3) Tax money that is not moving and force it to move through government spending.
Poor people spend money instantly because their basic needs are not met. That increases the velocity of money and our GDP. Rich people move money once a year to get the lower long term capital gains tax.
Food stamps provide the largest job boost per government dollar spent in rural communities.
https://www.vox.com/2019/6/5/18650437/usda-snap-food-stamps-economic-impact
Bonus: If the market crashes do a tax holiday for companies to move money back into the US from abroad. They will buy back their own stock at a discount.
5
@PictureBook I was 100% with your analysis until the last ("Bonus:") point... unless of course it was pure sarcasm ;-). Truth is such "tax holidays" are 90% fake: Most of the un-taxed excess (i.e., above what the firm needs for local operations/investment) foreign profits are already in the U.S. banking system anyway, earning tax-free cash to invest, use or buy back stock in the U.S.
The only reason any money is repatriated is if the U.S. parent wants to reduce it's debt, or liquidate some U.S. based asset.
1
What? Wilbur Ross said it would be a boon to the US economy. It would create jobs in the US, factory start ups, peace and prosperity for all.
7
This is one of my rare non-political comments.
A certain female Congresswoman who questioned Jay Powell this afternoon should REALLY know who BEN BERNANKE is. She may be young but her abysmal knowledge of who a very recent post Fed Chair was is astounding.
I question what else she is unaware of. It does not bode well when ANY representative (not well those Republicans too) participates in governance out of ignorance.
12
@RealTRUTH And that is why she is asking questions of the current one. Ben Bernanke left in 2014.
5
@RealTRUTH Who are you referring to? I can't find mention if the incident in the news and I'd like to make sure this isn't my representative.
3
@Nolan
Rashida Tlaib. I saw it live on TV this morning - and I am NOT picking on her for any other reason than not doing her homework.
4
Did Rep Katie Porter really try to shame Powell for going to a party at Bezos's place? And she shows a photo of him there, too? It's these faux "gotcha" moments that make me wonder if some of our representatives care more about their "street cred" than actually asking substantive questions.
10
@dc Of course they care more about "street cred." That's where the voters live. Rep Porter's questions are always substantial.
3
Without question there is an artificially inflated bubble. The "novel" use of 250 billion of repo-loans and a further 250 billion of short term QE since 2019/10 is proof of that. Expect a further such 500 billion, at least, before November.
The endstate of Trump policy is exactly a state dictated economy.
The Fed can print money forever, that is no problem. The big loser is US competitiveness, exports, and the trade balance.
Without oil & gas, the US trade balance is simply abysmal, and has continued to fall like a rock under Trump.
The trade deficit excluding oil & gas, in billion, since 2014 -
14 -50
15 -63
16 -64
17 -69
18 -78
19 -81
9
It seems like Powell has already genuflected to King Trump and is afraid of being truly independent. So regardless of the coronavirus' lasting impact, Powell will cut if the market starts tumbling beyond what they are propping up with repo operations. And there is unlikely to be much bipartisan congressional action before the election, so any meaningful stimulus in the form of infrastructure likely won't be happening. More repos and another interest rate coming soon is my bet.
3
Central banks around the world have been adding liquidity because of the negative effects of the coronavirus. As they have done so, the stock market has surged to new heights.
So, is all this added liquidity just propping up the stock market ... with the risk of creating a bubble ... or is it being utilized in the real economies of the world, like supporting those actually hurt by the economic damage the coronavirus is causing?
5
What does the head of the Federal Reserve know about economics or that coronavirus crisis that our ' Stable Genius' and ' Really Smart' and ' Well Educated' President of the United States doesn't?
20
@Blackmamba
A lot more than Trump does for sure.
But none of those people in the financial sector ever look at real people's lives.
Inflation has been here for the last three years regarding rents, food and utilities. But they never use these as indicators when they talk about how the economy affects us in real cost of living.
11
@Jean
Powell is not an economist nor a virologist.
Nor is Trump.
Trump won the inherited wealth real estate genetic daddy lottery and is no more of a businessman than is Queen Elizabeth II.
There is Silicon Valley and Manhattan and District of Columbia inflation that unites left and right-wing plutocrat oligarchs.
3
@Jean
Powell is not an economist nor a virologist.
Nor is Trump.
Trump won the inherited wealth real estate genetic daddy lottery and is no more of a businessman than is Queen Elizabeth II.
There is Silicon Valley and Manhattan and District of Columbia inflation that unites left and right-wing plutocrat oligarchs.
2
Who owns our debt?
2
Hurray! I know my happiness is perverse but honestly, it might be a signal that the universe has had it with the republicans in government. If the economy tanks, there will automatically be less love for this Trump lead government. Cause really he can’t tweet the Coronavirus away, can he?
11
Did anyone of his staff read the text of his program to his
supporters?
I mean when the Chump says it’s in the transcript non of his
supporters seem to have read it?
Did they read the part that cuts their entitlements, I mean aide,
for Health and Medicare?
11
Fed. Chair Powell may have more than a virus to contend with. The nomination of 'goldbug' and Trump sycophant Judy Shelton threatens the Fed's mission and, critically, its political independence.
In 2016 there was some belief that Trump in power would be content with the trappings, while cooler heads kept the Executive on track. In 2020, despite the whimpering hopes of 'lessons learned' by such as Susan Collins, it is delusional to think of Trump triumphant as anything but intoxicated on his absolute power.
Extending the contamination of Trump's willful ignorance and bankrupt practices to the Fed is a bad idea. Friends don't let friends drive drunk. Its time for voters to step up and take away the keys.
29
@pi
Beware of Susan Collins and the designated driver if you do ever wrest the keys away from that cold dead hand.
3
“Putting the federal budget on a sustainable path when the economy is strong would help ensure that policymakers have the space to use fiscal policy to assist in stabilizing the economy during a downturn,” he said. “A more sustainable federal budget could also support the economy’s growth over the long term.” Says Powell. Good luck! Trump isn’t known for listening to good advice.
Coronavirus, will be a major challenge to the Trump administration. God help us, they are inept!
9
Golly, you would think Chairman Powell would attach great weight to the opinion of this constant critic, the very stable financial genius we have all come to know as the single figure with the key to all the mysteries of the economy.
6
Another consequence of Climate Change will be the increased spread of virulent disease(s)
14
no worries mate!
"It is under control and a world away." Donald J. Trump, CEO The Trump Organization, Jan. 21, 2020
11
Anyone paying attention to the markets knows that the current economic situation is questionable already. We are living through unprecedented times and an experiment in economics with easy fed money, endless capital via index funds, and valuations based on gut feelings. Fundamentals are largely out the window.
The coronavirus is going to be a real test on the fantastical manipulations of central banks. China cannot possibly sustain their economy on CB support alone. The global supply chains being broken will eventually be reflected in the lower output of tangible goods and when that happens it won’t matter how much money is printed out, it won’t restock warehouses or fill backorders.
30
Wasn’t putting all our U.S. eggs in one Chinese basket a giant National security oversight? That’s why our way of doing business needs a major overhaul. But that might be considered too progressive.
13
Yes, the virus will hurt.
But the combined effects of Climate Change will desolate all functions of society, leaving none safe, regardless of income. And yet, few communities have begun to acknowledge its coming impacts. Many supporters of trumpian nonthought remain adamant that it too is fake news. Most Democrats haven’t quite realized its potential yet. Of course everyone will.. a bit too late. The #1 candidate who understands is Bernie.
17
Virus will hurt in March, even Apple and Tesla. Powell will cave in to Trump next meeting after 1st Q economic decline. Unexpectedly, it won't work. Investors will take winnings off the table, jobs will be lost. Then auto and business loans will Start to collapse. It's a one-way trip from there due to no interest rate reductions available and weak effect possible from renewed Quant dating. Trump will lose, even to Sanders
10
Of course there will be economic fallout. Was there a need to state the obvious? The US will be significantly affected since many of our supply chains are linked to China, especially pharmaceuticals. Quite a few of our critical drugs are not produced in the US, but rather in China so Corporate America can increase revenue by using cheaper sources of supply. One thing that Trump is right about the need to produce critical products in the US.
9
@Mike F. You should have observed that despite the tariffs and rhetoric about bringing production back to the USA, this is not happening. American corporations are not interested in doing this because they are only interested in increasing profit margins for their share holders.
Unless the government were to apply a socialist-style tool and take over whole industries so as to force industry to remain in the states, this will not happen in the land of capitalism.
9
We don’t need to about this virus after April. Our very stable genius said last night at his rally that once the weather is warmer, the virus will be gone. Problem solved.
11
@Ellen until it gets cold again and then it may return. And I'm not sure how this is Trump's fault. I'm pretty sure he didnt visit the west market in Wuhan.
1
@Sonia
I'm pretty sure, through his idiotic tax cuts, Trump left the US with few tools to combat the inevitable downturn.
10
@Ellen
The only stable genius I know is Hercules, and I bet he had a mask over his nose as he labored in warm weather.
2
Oh, yes...the employees of our major lending bank are all calling in sick. Without them, how in the name of whomever can the next tax cut possibly go through?
8
It is not the deaths that is feared, it is the economic impact which makes our master shiver with fear. It will do them no good. There will be no containing this virus. It will spread.
It's actually not even clear if this is a really severe virus or not. The statistics on death rate are likely based on a sample that does not recognize all cases of the virus. Not everyone goes to a doctor when at least 98% of people survive. Apparently children sometime hardly even show symptoms. So, there are a lot of unreported case.
It is the fear of an economic downturn due to a one to two percent population decline that has our corporate overlords so agitated, not that some of the serfs might die.
14
@Chris
"Apparently children sometime [sic] hardly even show symptoms."
apparently you don't appreciate the significance of your statement...not showing symptoms while being contagious to others is NOT a good thing—it is the definition of "super-spreader."
6
Meanwhile the Republican's budget unwittingly titled —"America's Future"—dooms us to increased wealth disparity, impoverishes our elders as the wave of baby boom retirees crests and locks in the military-industrial complex as the controlling force of our politics and economy.
Republicans' vision of the future is apocryphal and indicative of the GOP's surrender to base [without moral principles] instinct.
34
Fed chairman Powell's caution is timely but, will Trump heed the advice and correct US economic policy course accordingly?
4
The "coronavirus epidemic" that appears to have originated in a wet market in China "could pose broader economic risks" and, in fact, has the potential to bring the global economy to its knees.
You talk about a single point of failure.
That is one fragile global economic system the elites have created.
Ah...globalization.
The gift that just keeps giving.
32
@TB I would hope people would be more concerned about the number dying than losing money in a 401k
20
@lisa
concern over how one will pay the rent, keep the lights on and a crust of bread on the dinner table in ones 'golden years' particularly as the GOP's budget predicts abject poverty for 100s of thousands of retirees is understandable and virtuous.
22
@lisa
The article was about the impact of the coronavirus on the global economy.
So the comment was about the impact on the coronavirus on the global economy.
There was no mention of 401Ks.
The more important concern, again, from an economic perspective in alignment with the actual subject of the article, is the collateral damage in the form the job losses for hard-working people that will result, perhaps in significant numbers.
Finally, globalization has been rather good to shareholders, which would include those with 401Ks.
It has been rather less good to a tens of millions of people in the American middle class seeking nothing more than some semblance of job security and a living wage.
6
Hey, the very stable Genius is in charge. What could possibly go wrong ?
NOVEMBER.
52
Good luck to Powell trying to persuade Trump that debt needs to be managed.Trump has lived his life deep in debt and has gotten away with it.He has gotten people to “cook his books”.Trump is trying to re-arrange the US budget by taking funds from the military to help build his wall.He loves debt and figures that he can bury us in debt and then when the time comes to pay up,he will be long gone.Ask Deutsche Bank how much debt Trump owes.Trump is marginalizing all of our institutions-he will leave us mired in crushing debt if the Federal Reserve does not act decisively.
98
Boasting about the economy is the cornerstone of Trump's blustery campaign. Anyone who issues warnings about the economy, the deficit, the national debt, or destabilizing threats becomes a vicious enemy, a false prophet deserving of his contempt. Without a booming economy, he becomes the emperor without any visible clothes.
31
The real story here is that if the government doesn't start using some restraint in its spending, it will likely hand to our children deficits larger than the ones Clinton had to overcome in the 1980s. He also said that since the current interest rates have continued very low (on insistence from Mr. Trump) the Fed's power to help during a recession is diminished.
10
@John
Modern Monetary Theory maintains that federal deficits do not need to ever be repaid.
2
It’s also been debunked by anyone relevant
2
@John The military is a big spender,with a good deal waste.Let's start with that
The other issue is revenue.If the rich paid their fair share in taxes there would be no deficit
4
Yes, but fortunately Trump is proposing to defund the CDC. So there’s that.
20
Well, Bill Maher has been praying for a recession.
5
There is a lot of fear out there when it comes to this deadly virus.
But what scares me most is our president's potential response to it. In another story in the Times this a.m., Trump is quoted as writing during the Ebola crisis "“People that go to far away places to help out are great — but must suffer the consequences!”
In other words, anyone who cares enough to try to help our fellow human beings are fools, and should be punished accordingly and refused medical assistance.
This is the man who is leading our country, a man who in every instance looks out only for himself. What is going to happen if the disease does start to spread here? His response I fear will be the scariest part of it all.
76
Starting with the premise that "Trickle Down Economics" was always a lie repeated for years to brainwash everyone, the fact is Trump is "The Wall" street representative complete with Wall street Mnuchen running the Treasury. It's no accident Trump was elected in what was a shock and awe election, as usual, so close that everyone was too shocked to question it's legitimacy. It was noted the Television industry "devoted" a Billion dollars worth of free airtime to Trump during his campaign. There is more but not enough space to elaborate.
So it's a given, Wall Street elected Trump. They got their payback with the massive tax cuts and deregulation, but then I figured out why Trump is hateful of Immigrants and Refugees. It's because of Wall street's bottom line. If millions of new people arrive, they will dilute the economy, burden the banks with lower income people and the ultimate taxes reinstituted to help the poor.
Trump's genocide is occurring, from immigrants, to health care, to deregulation and now his new budget victimizes the poor in so many ways including taking away their life sustaining health care. Like any wild animal predator, Trump is preying on the least among us probably because they have no means to defend themselves.
That is why it is of paramount importance to vote for any Democrat except Bloomberg the Billionaire Wall Street alternative so we can save millions from certain death.
10
Why does the NYT consistently fail to tell readers of the Fed’s existing $60 Billion/month Quantitative Easing, thus artificially propelling the market to record high even when the economy is good? Why do you resist telling people that the rich are being subsidized at the expense of our grandchildren who will be required to suffer the results of this debt?
150
@Daniel Lake
Plus 200 billion tax cuts while government spends.
Plus 120 -140 billion military budget increase.
That’s over 300 billion per year flowing to corporations.
We are paying over $100,000 per job created.
We could have hired easily 2,700,000 people for the year to work on infrastructure. Medical etc.
At the current rate he is spending more than M4A costs. M4A would cost 2.5 and we are spending easily 1 billion over it.
There is your magic economy and we the American people are receiving next to nothing for all of this. All the money is funneled into the hands of people who are already wealthy.
72
@Mathias
The NYT probably wisely does not say too much, because it is not entirely clear that this buildup of Fed-held debt will every have to be paid back. The Fed can just hold it forever, and keep buying more, whenever conditions warrant. Yes, interest has to be paid, but excess interest, above Fed's operating needs is rebated to the US Treasury every 6 months. The danger of the deficits is that at some point the willingness or ability of the rest of the world (like a virus-striken China) to fund US spending is going to end. Then, what do you cut? Which US taxpayers will pay to keep up essential programs?
6
Sorry. I don’t believe a word that comes out of the mouths of any of these people. And for the media to continue to repeat that the economy is booming is incredibly dangerous. Once a Dem is back in the saddle, the collapse of the US economy will be pinned on him or her.
62
@Icantdrive45 Like what the GOP was aiming for last time- in 2008? They only missed by a couple of months but still managed to get the Dems to wear a bunch of the blame on a botched recovery because of a perceived lack of accountability by the guys who "caused it". I mean those who made gobs of money pushing low cost mortgages which they then securitized as high-grade investments and their pals who decided they did not have to renew at the low rates and cranked em out for renewal at 12-18% because they thought they could.
5
Can’t wait to see Trump don a mask and gloves to distribute his justice. Maybe all his followers will do the same.
4
Why doesn’t he warn us about the fallout from the trillion dollar deficit and the continuing Republican scam using the Laffer curve? It’s indefensible, not to mention morally reprehensible, for the supposedly independent Fed Chair to not do his job and connect the dots for the electorate. Just like Reagan and Bush II, the Republicans juice the economy with corporate tax cuts and flimsy monetary policies to enrich their supporters and hold onto power and leave it to the Democrats to clean up their mess while screaming fiscal responsibility when they’re in the minority.
160
@Dave Nixon was the master of juicing the economy in 1972, which was followed by 1973, which was the start of 10 years of stagflation and a bear market in which the stock market lost 75% of its value in real terms. Reagan's huge deficits in the early 80s were propelled by 16% interest rates and 10% unemployment. Given those conditions today, the deficit would pass $5,000,000,000,000, and trump says we can't afford Sanders and Warrens policies.
31
@Dave
In fact, Powell did issue a warning, saying the $1T deficit must come down.
The Washington Post reported: “Putting the federal budget on a sustainable path when the economy is strong would help ensure that policymakers have the space to use fiscal policy to assist in stabilizing the economy during a downturn,” Powell said in testimony to the House Financial Services Committee.
12
Teflon Don’s luck may be finally running out with the coronavirus outbreak and its impact on the global and domestic economy.
Trump is eager to invite foreign interference in his re-election campaign and the coronavirus from China may just do that.
92
@SanPride Rather, the American supporters of Donald Trump are about to be overcome with a serious bout of reality that has built up an immunity to ignorance and blind faith.
There is a cure for that, however I'm not sure they could easily afford it.
6
The interconnected global economy is so susceptible to shocks like the Coronavirus (or, for instance, a big Middle East shooting war) that when a downturn inevitably occurs it promises to be huge, especially in the presence of whopping debt. It’s that kind of world.
9
@the doctor Don’t forget the “skill” of our stable genius President and his clown car of clueless financial advisers (with the exception of Powell, who could lose his job if Trump sees his re-election in jeopardy).
13
The global economy is truly a house of cards. While the EU has implemented a variety of controls intended to prevent a repeat of the conditions that allowed (caused) the 2008 meltdown, the US has done the opposite, and bankers are once again running wild. And China’s economy has forever been largely fictional, as the government controls (fabricates) all financial and economic information, while oligarchs run the show.
42
@MikeG
All economies are a house of cards during major disasters. The one past this is a heating planet that may get out of control beyond our means.
11
The interdependence between the US and China, in fact between China and many other nations, is stark. The Fed Chair is doing his job well...yet he is worried. I share his concerns. But it is not only because of the adverse effects of the coronavirus upon our economy’s health as well as our individual health. Just as threatening is how an impulsive and mercurial Donald Trump will ignorantly intervene and react. He is incapable of both listening to and heeding the advice of experts from economics to health to diplomacy ad infinitum. We will witness soon how this will play out, but I have no trust in the man taking up valuable space in the White House.
52
The key to the economy is oil.
In July 2008, the price of oil surged to 147 dollars per barrel and that precipitated the WORLD Great recession.
Since the price collapsed thereafter, economies recovered and are still booming due to the low and consistent price of oil until now.
Oil is the reason our recovery is 11 years long thus far.
If Congress once again prohibits exports of crude oil, that in itself will perpetuate the economy better than policy at the fed.
Oil is everything, goes into everything, energizes much, warms much, and moves almost everything.
Do not underestimate the massive role oil plays in all economies.
Oil is the key to the economies.
The highs and lows of oil prices have tracked very closely through time with the relative health of economies.
The highs and lows of oil prices also tracked closely with political conditions, Republicans presiding over higher prices than Democrats.
5
@PATRICK trump and his cult ignore this, low oil prices in the 60s and early 70s led to the greatest boom in history. Demographics, the Vietnam war and sloppy monetary policy led to the inflation of the 70s. When oil prices shot up in the 70s, 10 years of stagflation ensued, except in Texas and Denver that enjoyed an oil boom. The low oil prices from 1985 to 2000 led to another long economic expansion, interrupted by the doubling of oil prices during the first gulf war. At some point the fracking boom will end, and donnies policies will leave the United States ill prepared to compete with the rest of the world, which is preparing for a world without oil.
13
@PATRICK Oil is no longer the key. Too many countries are getting a significant amount of their energy from renewable sources that weren't available years ago. Even in the US with renewable and fracking oil isn't as important as it once was along with cars that get 50 miles to the gallon.
2
@lisa
Think harder.
1
I predict the president will fire Powell in his desperation to keep stocks high and avoid economic downturns by lowering interest rates. Such a move would be dangerous because it would leave no room for future cuts to combat recession or even depression. the humongous deficits he's run up also hobble the Fed's ability to make the right decisions.
42
@ChristineMcM You could say that the law forbids Trump from firing Powell. But you can't say it, because the Republicans have said Trump is not bound to observe any laws.
43
But Powell is proving up Trump with $60 Billion/month of Quantitative Easing.
3
@Daniel Lake tRump obviously knows that Jerome Powell doesn't know math, QE should be $600 billion a month. Thats the way donnie ran his "businesses".
6
But the stock market keeps climbing.The sky is no longer the limit
12
@Marcus with the tax cuts companies bought back their stock which forces the price to increase. All good things come to an end. Just look at their earnings report not that great.
9
@Marcus
US investment vehicles are the last safe haven on the planet where the Ponzi scheme otherwise known as 'capitalism' continues to offer increasingly diminishing returns where global despots, fraudsters and oligarchs can park "their" money in US Dollar denominated accounts.
2
@Marcus
I think the stock market currently is like a game of bit/bat. Above the heads of most investors, the game begins when management of the larger corporations issues new stock for one reason: As salary, to reward themselves for a job well-done. Using stock options in this manner does indeed align the interests of managers and the company. After issuing top managers new stock, shares can then be repurchased to maintain a practical limit on the growth of new shares to reward managers.
This repurchase of huge amounts of outstanding shares means the supply curve of shares shifts leftward with this decrease; so, the new price per share is forced upward. And, investors reinvest many of these repurchase funds to increase, or drive the demand curve for other shares rightward, reinforcing the upward stock prices caused by the reduced shares via buybacks. Also, fewer outstanding shares mean higher EPSs ; and higher EPSs means higher P/E ratios. In today's market, it's as if managers at some firms can now control the very metrics used to evaluate their own performance, via manipulating stock buybacks. Stock prices are less moored to earnings.
The following two articles are informative on this topic:
"Why Are Stock Buybacks So Popular?," by Jerry Useem in The Atlantic's Aug 2019 issue. And, a Fortune article by Larry Light (Aug 20, 2019) titled: "More Than Half of All Stock Buybacks Are Now Financed by Debt.," which too is good.
[2/11/2020 Tu 10:49a Greenville NC] cc 1:08p
1