The Fed’s preferred measures of inflation are so low they’re in the Fed’s panic zone. What gives? “There’s an ideal playbook, and it would look something like this,” James Rickards, author of the New York Times bestseller Currency Wars,explained. “You’d have higher inflation than we have today, but not…
Ukraine’s next crisis will be a devastatingly economic one, as violent conflict destroys critical infrastructure in the east and brings key industry to a halt, furthering weakening the energy sector by crippling coal-based electricity production. The Ukrainian military’s showdown with separatists in the industrial east has forced…
WASHINGTON (AP) — Unemployment rates rose in 30 U.S. states last month, even as employers in two-thirds of the states stepped up hiring. The trends reflect an increase in job-hunters nationwide as an improving economy has encouraged more people to seek work. The Labor Department said Monday that unemployment rates fell in eight states in…
Investors seem hopeful that Russia and the West can step back from their standoff over Ukraine. There are still plenty of reasons, though, for central bankers to be concerned. Markets around the world rallied this week, helped by indications of reduced tensions in Ukraine. Russia withdrew troops from the border.
Russia is taking steps to ensure that it protects itself from any future dollar or euro sanctions. Moscow boasts the world’s 5th biggest foreign exchange reserves and the 6th largest gold reserves. In total, the assets amount to over $1.5 trillion. While the West is continuing to try and punish Russia via economic sanctions, the…
A ceasefire in the Gaza Strip collapsed on Tuesday, with Palestinian militants firing rockets into Israel, prompting Israeli airstrikes that health officials said killed a woman and a young girl. Accusing Gaza Islamists of breaking the truce, Israel promptly recalled its negotiators from talks in Cairo, leaving the fate of Egyptian-brokered efforts to secure a lasting peace hanging in the balance.…
From Ukraine to Gaza, geopolitical risks are weighing heavily on investors’ minds. But there are plenty more out there that may not be getting headlines. US mid-term elections Risk: Republican victory in the Senate and House results in lame duck presidency, derailing the US recovery. Obamacare and a general ennui with the presidency means…
