20/20 Vision

Does DFA Fail on Too Big to Fail? (Feb. 17)

Mike & Co.  — The newly-installed the Minneapolis Federal Reserve Bank and former Special Investigator overseeing the TARP program came to town yesterday advocating drastic action to head off a financial sector systemic risk crisis, calling for the nation’s biggest banks to be broken up.  His speech, delivered at Brookings, got noticed, with lengthy coverage in the NYT, WSJ, …

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The Fed Holds Steady (Feb. 10)

Mike & Co. — The Chair of the Federal Reserve went before House Financial Services to provide a report on the nation’s economic condition, a kind of bi-annual checkup. No news was made, no fireworks went off and no market mood swings occurred.  As for the Fed’s next move, it’s wait-and-see a little while longer.  …

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Obama's FY17 Budget (Feb. 9)

Mike & Co. — Today, President Obama submitted his eighth and final budget proposal to Congress.  It tops the $4 trillion mark for the first time.   Despite the historical tendency for lame duck presidential budgets to be treated as scrap paper — this one won’t even be accorded the courtesy of a hearing in House …

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Defending Dodd-Frank (Feb.2)

Mike & Co. — Congratulations, team.  Last night’s narrow win in Iowa provided a big moral victory and took some of the win out of the challenger’s sails.  It also means that, for at least several weeks, the Democratic nomination contest will continue apace.  And it is likely that Wall Street regulation will likely remain one the  campaign’s …

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Fiscal Pol: Deficit/Debt Dormancy (Jan. 28)

Mike & Co. — Ordinarily this time of year, you would perhaps start to spot leaks or hear scuttlebutt about the president’s spending plans for the next fiscal year, in anticipation of the statutory February White House budget rollout.  No one noticed when the administration announced it would miss next week’s legal budget submission deadline. …

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The Fed Holds Rates, for Now (Jan. 28)

Dear Mike & Co., Pre-primary endorsements from Party leaders in tight contests are rare and sometimes understated.  To wit, President Obama remarks this week that HRC is as prepared to be president as any non-Vice President as anyone: “I think that what Hillary presents is a recognition that translating values into governance and delivering the …

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HRC's Tax Policy (Jan. 17)

Mike & Co. — HRC added some key planks to her tax plan on Monday.  Her proposals increase federal revenues by $400-500 billion over ten years without increasing taxes for anyone earning less than $250,000 a year.   A third of the new revenue would come from a “fair share surcharge” levied on earnings exceeding $5 million taxed at the same rate, whether …

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