Tag Archive: Featured

Government interventions and the Cobra effect – Part I

2021-12-02

Almost two decades ago, German economist Horst Siebert coined the term the “Cobra effect” to describe the real-world consequences of “well-intentioned” government interventions that go awry and produce the exact opposite results from what they aim for.

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This Is A Big One (no, it’s not clickbait)

2021-12-02

by Jeffrey P. Snider

2021-12-02

Stop me if you’ve heard this before: dollar up for reasons no one can explain; yield curve flattening dramatically resisting the BOND ROUT!!! everyone has said is inevitable; a very hawkish Fed increasingly certain about inflation risks; then, the eurodollar curve inverts which blasts Jay Powell’s dreamland in favor of the proper interpretation, deflation, of those first two.

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December Monthly

2021-12-01

by Marc Chandler

2021-12-01

The pandemic is still with us as the year winds down and has not yet become endemic, like the seasonal flu. Even before the new Omicron variant was sequenced, Europe was being particularly hard hit, and social restrictions, especially among the unvaccinated, were spurring social strife. US cases, notably in the Midwest, were rising, and there is fear that it is 4-6 weeks behind Europe in experiencing the surge. Whatever herd immunity is, it has...

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Fragile Calm Returns and Powell’s Anti-Inflation Rhetoric Ratchets Up

2021-12-01

by Marc Chandler

2021-12-01

Overview: Into the uncertainty over the implications of Omicron, the Federal Reserve Chairman injected a particularly hawkish signal into the mix in his testimony before the Senate. These are the two forces that are shaping market developments. Travel restrictions are being tightened, though the new variant is being found in more countries, and it appears to be like closing the proverbial barn door after the horses have bolted. Equities are...

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