By Robert Romano Senate Democrats and Republicans on the Senate Banking Committee have agreed in principle on a plan to unwind the nearly $5 trillion Government Sponsored Enterprises (GSEs) and to, they say, “create a mortgage insurance fund for the system to protect taxpayers against future bailouts.” Under the proposal, S. 1217 , supported by the Obama administration, lending institutions will be […]

By Robert Romano Global debt outstanding, that is, all debts public and private, reached $100 trillion in mid-2013, the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) quarterly review revealed . Credit outstanding has grown by more than $30 trillion since the financial crisis began in 2007. When compared to data compiled by the Federal Reserve, the U.S. share […]

By Rick Manning Apple CEO Tim Cook blew a gasket at a shareholder meeting when someone had the audacity to ask him a pretty basic question about whether he would commit only to projects that are explicitly profitable. His answer should be an instructive warning sign to […]

By Rick Manning The 2014 Farm Bill has finally been put to bed.  One of the most contentious pieces of legislation that faces Congress every five years, the headline from this latest round in the fight against agriculture subsidies is more of the same. Millions of dollars […]

By Rick Manning As originally published at TheHill.com. If President Obama has his way on increasing the nation’s minimum wage, 500,000 Americans will see their wages cut to zero, their jobs eliminated by this feel-good government mandate, according to the Congressional Budget Office. That’s just another half million people’s hopes and dreams […]

By Robert Romano The precipitous drop in the nation’s labor participation rate has fueled a debate amongst economic prognosticators about what it means for America’s economy.  Some, like the Philadelphia Federal Reserve’s Shigeru Fujita , say the rate is declining naturally due to our nation’s population aging and Baby Boomers hitting retirement age. Others, […]

By William Warren

By Robert Romano “People may not realize that the creation and marketing of automobiles requires a financial system.” That was Manhattan Institute’s Diana Furchtgott-Roth writing for RealClearMarkets.com , responding to a piece from the New York Times’ Paul Krugman, “Paranoia of the Plutocrats.” In his piece, Krugman criticizes the current credit-driven financial system: “We’re not talking captains of industry […]

By Rick Manning Federal government farm subsidies have long been a bane to free marketeers, and the anticipated passage of a new five year farm bill by the U.S. Congress will likely include another round of government price supports for commodities. Congress’ balancing act is between the […]

By Robert Romano After a brief slowdown in fiscal year 2013 that ended September 30 — when the national debt grew “only” by $671.9 billion at a 4.18 percent rate — 2014 is shaping up to be another year awash in red ink. So far, since October 1, the debt has skyrocketed another $537.9 billion. And we’re not even […]