The failure of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) on March 10 was the second largest bank failure in U.S. history. Just two days following SVB’s collapse, Signature Bank joined the record books as the third largest bank failure in U.S. history. First Republic Bank also seemed...
Economics

No, Wall Street Was Never Deregulated
by Norbert Michel and Nicholas Anthony | Mar 15, 2023 | Economics, Featured Articles
In March 2018, The New York Times ran an op‐ed about the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act (the Economic Growth Act). The piece claimed the bill “would roll back or eliminate parts of the Dodd‐Frank Act.” Fast forward to March 2023,...

Is the Silicon Valley Bank’s Failure the First Domino?
by Doug French | Mar 13, 2023 | Economics, Featured Articles
If you watched the Fed Chair Jerome Powell testify before the senate and the House, you heard over and over that banks are well capitalized. The non-sequitur should inspire the Shakespearean quote “Methinks you protest too much.” The very next day after the hearings,...

Real Estate Markets Are Addicted to Easy Money
by Ryan McMaken | Mar 8, 2023 | Economics, Featured Articles
On Friday, residential real estate brokerage firm Redfin released new data on home prices, showing that prices fell 0.6 percent in February, year over year. According to Redfin's numbers, this was the first time that home prices actually fell since 2012. The...
Cheap Money Didn’t Fix the Economy (Shocker!)
by David Stockman | Mar 7, 2023 | Economics, Featured Articles
Some big, round-numbered interest rate thresholds have been passed in recent days including 4.0% on the 10-year UST, 5.0% on the 2-year UST and 7.0% on the 30-year mortgage. These all come at the end of extended round trips, of course, so the question at hand is how...
A Second Trump Presidency Promise No Improvements on Trade
by Trenton Hale | Mar 6, 2023 | Economics, Featured Articles, Politics
Over the past few weeks, former President Donald Trump has been releasing some of his proposals if he were to return to the White House in 2024. While many of his positions pose great danger to personal liberty, such as his plan to “end crime and keep Americans safe,”...
TGIF: Which Way — Capitalism, Socialism, or Something Else?
by Sheldon Richman | Mar 3, 2023 | Economics, Featured Articles, Justice, Libertarianism, Politics, Sheldon Richman, TGIF
Big questions are being thrashed out these days. One of the biggest is this: do we want capitalism or socialism? Unfortunately, the online discussions I've witnessed have been, to put it as politely as I can, terrible. (For an example, see this one between Reason...
The Year of Living Dangerously: Global Economic Prospects at a Turning Point
by Dan Steinbock | Mar 2, 2023 | Economics, Featured Articles
Recently, Kristalina Georgieva, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), suggested that the year 2023 could "represent a turning point, with inflation declining and growth bottoming out.” She based the prediction on economic assumptions....