

Congressional Republicans should propose shorter-term hikes to the debt ceiling and then force Democrats to either approve them or accept responsibility for any resulting government shutdown.
Chris Dodd’s Big, Misguided Bill
For more than a year Congress has been talking about reforming bank and other financial-market regulations. The regulatory system certainly needs reform — it broke down badly over the last ...
The Small-Business Dilemma
The economy has strengthened some in recent months — helped by inventory building and excess monetary stimulus from the Federal Reserve — while payroll employment is finally stabilizing. But the ...
Somewhere Short of a V
Are we in the midst of a V-shaped recovery, where the economy rockets back to robustness following a painful downturn? Are we witnessing the short-lived acceleration that precedes an economic ...
The Fed Lacks Urgency
The Federal Reserve made the correct call last week to increase its purchase commitments for mortgage-backed securities and bonds linked to mortgage lending. However, the Fed didn’t say it would ...
Why Markets Don’t Like the Geithner Plan
Markets have reacted negatively to the Geithner plan, with equities falling and the three barometers of risk aversion all worsening — the yen strengthened, gold rose, and Treasury yields fell. ...
The Path to Recovery
The economic and financial-market events of late 2008 can be boiled down to this: The surprise Lehman bankruptcy froze credit markets, the U.S. economy hit a brick wall, and the ...
Inflation Remains the Key Variable
The Federal Reserve hiked its overnight rate on Thursday to 5.25 percent from 5 percent. The accompanying statement said inflation expectations are contained and that any additional firming will depend ...
An Expansion With Staying Power
I agree with Business Week’s February 13 cover story entitled, “Why the Economy Is a Lot Stronger than You Think.” The article begins:
You read this magazine religiously, watch CNBC ...
Here We Go Again?
The 2005 year-end equity rally, like the one in 2004, makes sense based on steady economic growth, consumer resilience, solid corporate profits, and the realization that rate hikes are reducing ...