By Robert Romano “The full faith and credit of the United States is pledged to the payment of all amounts from the Mortgage Insurance Fund which may be required to be paid under any insurance provided under this title.” That is the text of legislation that has […]

By Robert Romano Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) on May 13 sent a letter to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) warning that he was placing a hold on of three nominees to serve as governors of the Federal Reserve . The nominees are Stanley Fischer for vice chairman, and Lael Brainard and Jerome Powell for the board of governors. Paul is demanding consideration of […]

By Robert Romano Flying under the radar last week was a reauthorization of the $16.4 billion Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), which passed easily in the House of Representatives 297 to 117 on May 8 . A majority of House Republicans, 116, actually voted against the bill. Only 106 Republicans supported it, led by Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.). But then again, who needs Republicans to pass these […]

By Robert Romano Since the great inflation of the 1970s, interest rates have been on an historic 30-year down trend — a collapse that many wonder if it will continue indefinitely. Particularly, 30-year fixed rate mortgages peaked annually in 1981 at about 16.6 percent, hitting a bottom […]

By Robert Romano “In light of the considerable degree of slack that remains in labor markets and the continuation of inflation below the Committee’s 2 percent objective, a high degree of monetary accommodation remains warranted.” That was Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen testifying before the Joint Economic Committee on May 7 . The message? The economy […]

By Robert Romano The U.S. trade deficit shrank slightly in March by $1.5 billion to $40.4 billion amid slight gains in exports for the month. Missing in the monthly and quarterly streams of data, however, is an understanding of overall trends. Here, the trade deficit has been […]

By Robert Romano In April, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the amount of people with jobs decreased by 73,000 . Yet, we are to believe that the unemployment rate dropped, from 6.7 percent to 6.3 percent. These are two irreconcilable data points. So, how did it happen? 964,000 people left the civilian labor force , which is to say, they gave […]

By Rick Manning It was as if entire city of San Jose, California dropped out of the labor force last month.  That’s what 988,000 people leaving the workforce in one month looks like.  It is more than the entire population of the state of Delaware, and almost […]

This is an excerpt from an article originally published on WashingtonTimes.com. By Jim Martin Liberals’ latest assault on consumer freedom could soon target the packet of sugar you put in your morning coffee. Like most big-government power plays, the main objective appears to be fattening government coffers […]

By Robert Romano “Like a black hole, cronyism bends the economy toward the state, inexorably shifting wealth and opportunity from the public to policymakers. The more power government amasses, the more privileges are bestowed on the government’s friends, the more businesses invest in influence instead of innovation, […]