Readers may remember the timeless scene from the 1946 drama “It’s a Wonderful Life”, where protagonist George Bailey is set upon by customers in a classic run on the bank by depositors on the eve of his honeymoon. “You’re thinking of this place all wrong,” he says, “As if I had the money back in [...]
A FORUM FOR DAY-TO-DAY DISCUSSION
Posted by: Nathan Byrd on July 16, 2012
Posted by: Nathan Byrd on May 28, 2012
It has been almost 240 years since Adam Smith wrote “The Wealth of Nations”, noting some characteristics of successful economies (division of labor, free markets, and others). Despite the advances since that time, economics remains far from an exact science, and it is a mystery why there is such wide disparity in incomes worldwide, and [...]
Posted by: Nathan Byrd on December 8, 2011
Back in August, the US Federal Reserve released a statement saying:┬á “The Committee currently anticipates that economic conditions–including low rates of resource utilization and a subdued outlook for inflation over the medium run–are likely to warrant exceptionally low levels for the federal funds rate at least through mid-2013.”┬á This was the first time in history [...]
Posted by: Nathan Byrd on November 27, 2011
It has been easy to ignore the market meltdown going on overseas in Europe from the vantage point of the United States over the past few weeks.  US economic indicators have continued to surprise to the upside, and the American consumer has shown surprising resilience in the face of deleveraging and demographic headwinds.  Early reports suggest [...]
Posted by: Nathan Byrd on October 31, 2011
John Adams once said that “all the perplexities, confusion, and distress in America arise, not from defects in their Constitution or Confederation, not from want of honor or virtue, so much as from the downright ignorance of the nature of coin, credit, and circulation.”┬á He could well have been referring to modern day Europe, as [...]
