Tim Fernholz

Yesterday, the always-fantastic anonymous lawyer behind the blog Economics of Contempt made a discomfiting observation: With only four members on the Federal Reserve’s Board of Directors, the central bank couldn’t use its emergency powers — which require five directors — in case, say, an international crisis like the recent Greek episode caused a run on […]

Richard Bove, a Wall Street broker, writes that bank capital requirements are the prime culprits hurting lending and growth. He couldn’t be more wrong! Why are the Fed’s efforts failing? Because the nation’s banks are shrinking. … There are many reasons for this. The size of the credit market is smaller today because banks will […]

Yesterday, in far-off Basel, Switzerland, technocrats from countries around the world — including the G-20 countries and the United States — agreed to new international banking standards. This process needed to take place on the international stage — and apply to countries across the board — because unless standards are universal, we could see some […]

… and ask for two milkshakes. The bartender gives them each a 50-page contract, explaining that they can borrow the cost of the milkshake at a low interest rate that will increase with each sip, but don’t worry — they can refinance later for a fee. “These incentives are terrible!” Goolsbee says, and walks out. […]

When President Obama proposed a National Infrastructure Bank recently, it wasn’t a surprise — the president has supported such an entity at least since his presidential campaign. At the time, however, it was not framed as a jobs-creation program but rather an investment in the country’s future, which is a much more accurate description of […]

Once more, let us try to plumb the depths of Sen. Ben Nelson’s brain — a taxing sport given the man’s incoherent policy views. Nelson has been one of the Democrats most reluctant to vote on extending unemployment benefits — even as job openings continue to outnumber job-seekers — and held up votes on key […]

Depending on how you read it, it seems as though Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke’s speech last week laid out a plan for the Fed to take further action to shore up the recovery if growth forecasts continue to fall. Now the Fed’s Beige Book — an economic assessment taken eight times a year — has […]

Last night, a bunch of my friends saw Big Boi at one of D.C.’s iconic rock clubs, 9:30; I hear it was pretty awesome. The 9:30 Club happens to be partnered with a new(ish) ticket retailer called Ticketfly, which aims to leverage the Internet to improve the ticket-purchasing experience — it sounds like a business […]