Government
Is A Great Reset Of Monetary Policy Coming After Massive Money Supply Expansion?
Is A Great Reset Of Monetary Policy Coming After Massive Money Supply Expansion?
Authored by Andrew Moran via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),
In…
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Authored by Andrew Moran via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),
In response to the coronavirus pandemic, the Federal Reserve took extraordinary and unprecedented action to cushion the economic blows resulting from the global health crisis.
Over the last two years, the central bank expanded the money supply by more than $6 trillion. The pandemic-era round of quantitative easing led to the creation of nearly 50 percent of all new U.S. dollars ever created in the nation’s history.
When Congress approved trillions of dollars in new government spending, whether it was the $2.1 trillion CARES Act or the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan (ARP), the Treasury Department issued fresh debt to cover the enormous shortfall. This prompted the central bank to issue new units of currency to purchase the debt.
The Fed did not stop with just buying Treasury debt. The institution also acquired mortgage-backed securities and corporate bonds. This increased its balance sheet to a record $8.9 trillion.
In a March 2020 interview with “60 Minutes,” Neel Kashkari, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, noted that the Fed has “unlimited cash,” assuring the public that the financial system possesses enough money.
Uncle Sam’s Wallet
Critics charge that the Fed has enabled officials to embark upon enormous deficit-financed spending efforts by monetizing the debt. This could exacerbate America’s finances, resulting in fiscal consequences for the federal government and the American people.
The national debt has topped $30 trillion, the federal deficit is projected to remain above $1 trillion for the next decade, and the government is contending with $200 trillion in unfunded liabilities and expenditures. But financial experts warn that debt-servicing payments could skyrocket in the coming years, especially if the Fed keeps raising interest rates to combat inflation. Last year, for example, the U.S. government spent more than $500 billion on interest for debt held by the public. With the benchmark fed funds rate projected to reach 3.4 percent by the end of 2022, officials will be paying more to service the national debt. By 2031, Washington’s net interest costs are predicted to increase to nearly $1 trillion per year (based on a 2.8 percent interest rate on the 10-year Treasury by the current administration).
In addition, debt can become a massive burden on the country when it swallows the nation’s production. Economists warn that a country’s red ink reaches a tipping point when the debt-to-GDP ratio surpasses 77 percent. Today, the debt-to-GDP ratio is about 125 percent.
If there is a hint of concern surrounding the national debt, Treasury investors will demand higher compensation for the heightened risk. Moreover, this can threaten the greenback because the dollar’s value diminishes if there is lower demand for U.S. bonds.
Market analysts purport that the Fed is performing a juggling act: fighting inflation while maintaining economic growth. But there might be another feat the central bank needs to accomplish: combatting higher prices without severely hemorrhaging the federal government’s finances.
Suffice it to say, the more the national debt grows—it is forecast to hit approximately $40 trillion over the next decade—the greater the challenge for the Fed to raise rates exceeding inflation levels.
Is the Debt Sustainable?
Experts have been ringing alarm bells about unsustainable debt levels.
“National debt may be sustainable in the short run, but at some point, rates will rise and deficits and debt will have to be tackled through spending cuts or tax increases,” wrote Meera Pandit, the global market strategist at JPMorgan Chase, in a January 2021 note.
Before the COVID-19 public health crisis, Fed Chair Jerome Powell told Congress that the national debt was on an “unsustainable” path.
“The U.S. federal government is on an unsustainable fiscal path,” Powell told the Senate Banking Committee in November 2019. “Debt as a percentage of GDP is growing, and now growing sharply … And that is unsustainable by definition. We need to stabilize debt to GDP. The timing the doing that, the ways of doing it—through revenue, through spending—all of those things are not for the Fed to decide.”
During a webinar sponsored by the Economic Club of Washington, D.C., in April 2021, Powell explained that the economy could handle the elevated debt load. However, he warned that the long-term trajectory of the U.S. budget is unsustainable.
Powell also told Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) earlier this year that debt cannot grow faster than the national economy indefinitely.
But the central bank chair noted the U.S. government should only grapple with massive debt levels once the economy has stabilized.
According to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), the federal debt is projected to top 150 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP) within 30 years. The budget watchdog warned that if policymakers refuse to act, the soaring debt will weigh on long-term economic growth, prevent crucial investments, accelerate a fiscal crisis, and stop officials from responding to unforeseen events.
“The benefits of reducing the deficit sooner include a smaller accumulated debt, smaller policy changes required to achieve long-term outcomes, and less uncertainty about the policies lawmakers would adopt,” the CBO wrote in its 2022 Long-Term Budget Outlook.
What About the Broader Economy?
Since the Fed’s tightening cycle began this past spring, money supply growth has been flat. But has the damage already been done to the U.S. economy?
The 8.5 percent annual inflation rate is the highest it has been in 40 years. The Producer Price Index (PPI) is still hovering near levels unseen since the 2008–09 financial crisis. The growing cost of living has consumers transforming their buying habits, from consuming less to altering their demand patterns.
Many economists note that the labor market has been fractured: real wage growth is still in negative territory, productivity is tumbling, the number of people quitting remains elevated, job openings continue to be above 10 million, and 7.5 million Americans work two jobs.
Asset bubbles have been the next notable consequence of the Fed’s historic monetary expansion. From stocks to cryptocurrencies, these assets reached record highs before crashing into a bear market. It is uncertain if the latest gains are part of a bear market rally or if the bottom has been touched and a bullish cycle has started. But the equities arena is hanging onto every word from the Federal Reserve, be it Chairman Powell or St. Louis Fed Bank President James Bullard.
The consensus on Wall Street is that the U.S. economy will slip into either a sharp or mild economic downturn, if it has not already. The country slipped into a technical recession after two consecutive quarters of negative GDP growth. If economic conditions worsen, there is an expectation that the Fed will reverse its hawkish tightening campaign and begin to cut interest rates.
Fed officials have stated that this is not happening. Instead, they aver: the institution will likely lift rates and leave them there, until there is concrete evidence that inflation is substantially coming down.
What’s Next for the Fed?
Will the present monetary system remain intact, or will it experience an overhaul?
Many developments are unfolding that could result in long-term consequences for households, policymakers, and geopolitical pursuits.
Countries are partaking in a de-dollarization initiative. The Fed is assessing a central bank digital currency. Higher inflation and rising borrowing costs are weighing on consumers. Trust in the Federal Reserve has eroded considerably over the last couple of years.
Whether or not the central bankers hit the reset button on the monetary system remains to be seen. But the pandemic might have ushered in a new era for the economy and fiscal and monetary policy, one that Powell’s successor might facilitate and install into the fabric of the Federal Reserve’s infrastructure.
Government
Low Iron Levels In Blood Could Trigger Long COVID: Study
Low Iron Levels In Blood Could Trigger Long COVID: Study
Authored by Amie Dahnke via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),
People with inadequate…
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Authored by Amie Dahnke via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),
People with inadequate iron levels in their blood due to a COVID-19 infection could be at greater risk of long COVID.
A new study indicates that problems with iron levels in the bloodstream likely trigger chronic inflammation and other conditions associated with the post-COVID phenomenon. The findings, published on March 1 in Nature Immunology, could offer new ways to treat or prevent the condition.
Long COVID Patients Have Low Iron Levels
Researchers at the University of Cambridge pinpointed low iron as a potential link to long-COVID symptoms thanks to a study they initiated shortly after the start of the pandemic. They recruited people who tested positive for the virus to provide blood samples for analysis over a year, which allowed the researchers to look for post-infection changes in the blood. The researchers looked at 214 samples and found that 45 percent of patients reported symptoms of long COVID that lasted between three and 10 months.
In analyzing the blood samples, the research team noticed that people experiencing long COVID had low iron levels, contributing to anemia and low red blood cell production, just two weeks after they were diagnosed with COVID-19. This was true for patients regardless of age, sex, or the initial severity of their infection.
According to one of the study co-authors, the removal of iron from the bloodstream is a natural process and defense mechanism of the body.
But it can jeopardize a person’s recovery.
“When the body has an infection, it responds by removing iron from the bloodstream. This protects us from potentially lethal bacteria that capture the iron in the bloodstream and grow rapidly. It’s an evolutionary response that redistributes iron in the body, and the blood plasma becomes an iron desert,” University of Oxford professor Hal Drakesmith said in a press release. “However, if this goes on for a long time, there is less iron for red blood cells, so oxygen is transported less efficiently affecting metabolism and energy production, and for white blood cells, which need iron to work properly. The protective mechanism ends up becoming a problem.”
The research team believes that consistently low iron levels could explain why individuals with long COVID continue to experience fatigue and difficulty exercising. As such, the researchers suggested iron supplementation to help regulate and prevent the often debilitating symptoms associated with long COVID.
“It isn’t necessarily the case that individuals don’t have enough iron in their body, it’s just that it’s trapped in the wrong place,” Aimee Hanson, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Cambridge who worked on the study, said in the press release. “What we need is a way to remobilize the iron and pull it back into the bloodstream, where it becomes more useful to the red blood cells.”
The research team pointed out that iron supplementation isn’t always straightforward. Achieving the right level of iron varies from person to person. Too much iron can cause stomach issues, ranging from constipation, nausea, and abdominal pain to gastritis and gastric lesions.
1 in 5 Still Affected by Long COVID
COVID-19 has affected nearly 40 percent of Americans, with one in five of those still suffering from symptoms of long COVID, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Long COVID is marked by health issues that continue at least four weeks after an individual was initially diagnosed with COVID-19. Symptoms can last for days, weeks, months, or years and may include fatigue, cough or chest pain, headache, brain fog, depression or anxiety, digestive issues, and joint or muscle pain.
Government
Walmart joins Costco in sharing key pricing news
The massive retailers have both shared information that some retailers keep very close to the vest.
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As we head toward a presidential election, the presumed candidates for both parties will look for issues that rally undecided voters.
The economy will be a key issue, with Democrats pointing to job creation and lowering prices while Republicans will cite the layoffs at Big Tech companies, high housing prices, and of course, sticky inflation.
The covid pandemic created a perfect storm for inflation and higher prices. It became harder to get many items because people getting sick slowed down, or even stopped, production at some factories.
Related: Popular mall retailer shuts down abruptly after bankruptcy filing
It was also a period where demand increased while shipping, trucking and delivery systems were all strained or thrown out of whack. The combination led to product shortages and higher prices.
You might have gone to the grocery store and not been able to buy your favorite paper towel brand or find toilet paper at all. That happened partly because of the supply chain and partly due to increased demand, but at the end of the day, it led to higher prices, which some consumers blamed on President Joe Biden's administration.
Biden, of course, was blamed for the price increases, but as inflation has dropped and grocery prices have fallen, few companies have been up front about it. That's probably not a political choice in most cases. Instead, some companies have chosen to lower prices more slowly than they raised them.
However, two major retailers, Walmart (WMT) and Costco, have been very honest about inflation. Walmart Chief Executive Doug McMillon's most recent comments validate what Biden's administration has been saying about the state of the economy. And they contrast with the economic picture being painted by Republicans who support their presumptive nominee, Donald Trump.
Image source: Joe Raedle/Getty Images
Walmart sees lower prices
McMillon does not talk about lower prices to make a political statement. He's communicating with customers and potential customers through the analysts who cover the company's quarterly-earnings calls.
During Walmart's fiscal-fourth-quarter-earnings call, McMillon was clear that prices are going down.
"I'm excited about the omnichannel net promoter score trends the team is driving. Across countries, we continue to see a customer that's resilient but looking for value. As always, we're working hard to deliver that for them, including through our rollbacks on food pricing in Walmart U.S. Those were up significantly in Q4 versus last year, following a big increase in Q3," he said.
He was specific about where the chain has seen prices go down.
"Our general merchandise prices are lower than a year ago and even two years ago in some categories, which means our customers are finding value in areas like apparel and hard lines," he said. "In food, prices are lower than a year ago in places like eggs, apples, and deli snacks, but higher in other places like asparagus and blackberries."
McMillon said that in other areas prices were still up but have been falling.
"Dry grocery and consumables categories like paper goods and cleaning supplies are up mid-single digits versus last year and high teens versus two years ago. Private-brand penetration is up in many of the countries where we operate, including the United States," he said.
Costco sees almost no inflation impact
McMillon avoided the word inflation in his comments. Costco (COST) Chief Financial Officer Richard Galanti, who steps down on March 15, has been very transparent on the topic.
The CFO commented on inflation during his company's fiscal-first-quarter-earnings call.
"Most recently, in the last fourth-quarter discussion, we had estimated that year-over-year inflation was in the 1% to 2% range. Our estimate for the quarter just ended, that inflation was in the 0% to 1% range," he said.
Galanti made clear that inflation (and even deflation) varied by category.
"A bigger deflation in some big and bulky items like furniture sets due to lower freight costs year over year, as well as on things like domestics, bulky lower-priced items, again, where the freight cost is significant. Some deflationary items were as much as 20% to 30% and, again, mostly freight-related," he added.
bankruptcy pandemic trumpGovernment
Walmart has really good news for shoppers (and Joe Biden)
The giant retailer joins Costco in making a statement that has political overtones, even if that’s not the intent.
Share this:
As we head toward a presidential election, the presumed candidates for both parties will look for issues that rally undecided voters.
The economy will be a key issue, with Democrats pointing to job creation and lowering prices while Republicans will cite the layoffs at Big Tech companies, high housing prices, and of course, sticky inflation.
The covid pandemic created a perfect storm for inflation and higher prices. It became harder to get many items because people getting sick slowed down, or even stopped, production at some factories.
Related: Popular mall retailer shuts down abruptly after bankruptcy filing
It was also a period where demand increased while shipping, trucking and delivery systems were all strained or thrown out of whack. The combination led to product shortages and higher prices.
You might have gone to the grocery store and not been able to buy your favorite paper towel brand or find toilet paper at all. That happened partly because of the supply chain and partly due to increased demand, but at the end of the day, it led to higher prices, which some consumers blamed on President Joe Biden's administration.
Biden, of course, was blamed for the price increases, but as inflation has dropped and grocery prices have fallen, few companies have been up front about it. That's probably not a political choice in most cases. Instead, some companies have chosen to lower prices more slowly than they raised them.
However, two major retailers, Walmart (WMT) and Costco, have been very honest about inflation. Walmart Chief Executive Doug McMillon's most recent comments validate what Biden's administration has been saying about the state of the economy. And they contrast with the economic picture being painted by Republicans who support their presumptive nominee, Donald Trump.
Image source: Joe Raedle/Getty Images
Walmart sees lower prices
McMillon does not talk about lower prices to make a political statement. He's communicating with customers and potential customers through the analysts who cover the company's quarterly-earnings calls.
During Walmart's fiscal-fourth-quarter-earnings call, McMillon was clear that prices are going down.
"I'm excited about the omnichannel net promoter score trends the team is driving. Across countries, we continue to see a customer that's resilient but looking for value. As always, we're working hard to deliver that for them, including through our rollbacks on food pricing in Walmart U.S. Those were up significantly in Q4 versus last year, following a big increase in Q3," he said.
He was specific about where the chain has seen prices go down.
"Our general merchandise prices are lower than a year ago and even two years ago in some categories, which means our customers are finding value in areas like apparel and hard lines," he said. "In food, prices are lower than a year ago in places like eggs, apples, and deli snacks, but higher in other places like asparagus and blackberries."
McMillon said that in other areas prices were still up but have been falling.
"Dry grocery and consumables categories like paper goods and cleaning supplies are up mid-single digits versus last year and high teens versus two years ago. Private-brand penetration is up in many of the countries where we operate, including the United States," he said.
Costco sees almost no inflation impact
McMillon avoided the word inflation in his comments. Costco (COST) Chief Financial Officer Richard Galanti, who steps down on March 15, has been very transparent on the topic.
The CFO commented on inflation during his company's fiscal-first-quarter-earnings call.
"Most recently, in the last fourth-quarter discussion, we had estimated that year-over-year inflation was in the 1% to 2% range. Our estimate for the quarter just ended, that inflation was in the 0% to 1% range," he said.
Galanti made clear that inflation (and even deflation) varied by category.
"A bigger deflation in some big and bulky items like furniture sets due to lower freight costs year over year, as well as on things like domestics, bulky lower-priced items, again, where the freight cost is significant. Some deflationary items were as much as 20% to 30% and, again, mostly freight-related," he added.
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