The Fed kept rates at zero Wednesday and Chairman Ben Bernanke practically guaranteed more action by the central bank to boost the economy during his press conference following the FOMC meeting. (See: Borrowers Win, Savers Lose as Fed Stands Pat — Again)Read the rest here. Also see the video interview at the linked site.
In justifying it's uber-easy stance, the Fed cited a "subdued outlook for inflation," which has "moderated since earlier in the year as prices of energy and some commodities have declined from their peaks."
That's poppycock, according to Michael Pento, president of Pento Portfolio Strategies and a senior strategy at Agora Financial.
"Inflation is already here," Pento says, citing the following stats:
Inflation: The Consumer Price Index is up 3.9% on a year-over-year basis and Pento (among many others) believes that index grossly underestimates inflation in the real world.
The Misery Index: A combination of unemployment plus CPI inflation, the Misery Index recently hit a 28-year high. (If history is prologue, that's bad news for President Obama.)
Money Supply: M2 Money Supply has grown over 10% in the past 12 months through September. 'They'll claim the money is staying in the banking system but it's not, it's being lent out," Pento says, citing a recent uptick in Commercial & Industrial loans as evidence.
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Pento's a moron. He's getting his cues about the decline of a "diverse manufacturing base" from the Peter Schiff School of Economic Bullshit.
ReplyDeleteRegarding M2 growth, here's an actual analysis: http://johnbtaylorsblog.blogspot.com/2011/08/why-m2-growth-spurt.html
Pento could have piggybacked on Taylor's analysis, added Austrian insights, and intelligently discussed the monetary demand shifts that neoclassicist Taylor left flapping in the wind. Coulda, woulda, shoulda.