{"id":14803,"date":"2017-02-11T23:20:16","date_gmt":"2017-02-12T04:20:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/goldstocksforex.com\/?p=14803"},"modified":"2017-02-11T23:20:16","modified_gmt":"2017-02-12T04:20:16","slug":"the-threat-of-inflation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thepatientinvestor.com\/index.php\/2017\/02\/11\/the-threat-of-inflation\/","title":{"rendered":"The Threat of Inflation"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>From the <em>Trading Diary<\/em>:<\/p>\n<p>I received a message from a US reader suggesting I should &#8220;stay out of politics&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p>I would love to stay out of politics. Frankly, I find it tiresome. Unfortunately, politics and the economy are so intertwined as to make the study of one meaningless without consideration of the other. I say &#8220;unfortunately&#8221; because a lot of the damage done to the economy is caused by the political system.<\/p>\n<p>As for Donald Trump, I am a conservative but do not support him. He is not another Reagan who can lead from the center and inspire his country. If anything he is a polarizing force, more ego-driven than Nixon and just as unpredictable.<\/p>\n<p>I hope I am wrong. Trump has many sound policies and has made some solid appointments to his team. Don&#8217;t believe everything you read from a hostile media. They could do a lot of good. Provided they are able to manage the <i>elephant in the lifeboat<\/i> &mdash; the destabilizing side of Trump&#8217;s nature.<\/p>\n<p>Now that I have offended at least half of all US readers &mdash; slightly less than half if you listen to bleating about the majority vote &mdash; let me explain why politics and economics are so intertwined.<\/p>\n<p>Apart from trade wars, which I will discuss at a later date, I see the main threat to the US economy as inflation.<\/p>\n<p>Before I start, let me say that these dangers are not immediate and the present boom is likely to continue for the next 12 to 18 months. But they could quickly materialize, bringing the boom to a premature end, so it is best to keep a weather eye on them.<\/p>\n<h2>Inflation<\/h2>\n<p>Earlier this week <a href=\"http:\/\/goldstocksforex.com\/2017\/02\/06\/a-bump-for-donald-trump-next-year\/\">I discussed<\/a> why the inflation outlook is so important to stock market performance:<\/p>\n<p>From <a href=\"http:\/\/www.smh.com.au\/business\/world-business\/warning-of-bump-for-trump-next-year-with-slide-into-recession-20170205-gu65z1.html\">Tim Wallace at The Sydney Morning Herald<\/a>:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Nine years on from the start of the financial crisis, the US recovery may be overheating, Legal &amp; General Investment Management economist James Carrick has warned.<\/p>\n<p>He has predicted a series of interest rate hikes will tip the US into a 2018 recession.&#8221;Every recession in the US has been caused by a tightening of credit conditions,&#8221; he said, noting inflation is on the rise and the US Federal Reserve is discussing plans for higher interest rates.<\/p>\n<p>Officials at the Fed have only raised interest rates cautiously, because inflation has not taken off, so they do not believe the Fed needs to take the heat out of the economy.<\/p>\n<p>But economists fear the strong dollar and low global commodity prices have restricted inflation and disguised domestic price rises. Underneath this, they fear the economy is already overheating.<\/p>\n<p>As a result, they expect inflation to pick up sharply this year, forcing more rapid interest rate hikes.<\/p>\n<p>That could cause a recession next year, they say. In their models, the signals are that this could take place in mid-2018.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Harvard scholar <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bondvigilantes.com\/blog\/2017\/02\/10\/venetians-volcker-value-risk-8-centuries-bond-market-reversals-interview-bank-undergrounds-paul-schmelzing\/\">Paul Schmelzing<\/a> points out that inflation is starting to rear its head in both China and Germany, with producer prices rising. This may in part be a result of the falling value of the Yuan and Euro against the Dollar, resulting in higher domestic commodity prices.<\/p>\n<p>The opposite, however, is true for the US, with a rising Dollar lowering import prices and acting as a headwind against inflation.<\/p>\n<p>The consumer price index (CPI) is rising because of higher crude oil prices but core CPI (excluding food &amp; energy) has remained fairly constant, around the 2.0 percent target, over the last five years.<\/p>\n<p><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" title=\"Core CPI and CPI\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.incrediblecharts.com\/images\/2017\/2017-02-11-inflation.png?w=525&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Core CPI and CPI\" \/><\/p>\n<p>So why the concern?<\/p>\n<p>Well the Fed is more concerned about underlying inflation, best reflected by hourly wage rates, than the headline CPI figure.<\/p>\n<p>A sharp rise in hourly earnings rates would force the Fed to respond with tighter monetary policy to take the heat out of the economy.<\/p>\n<p>The chart below shows how the Fed slams on the brakes whenever average hourly earning rates grow above 3.0 percent. Each surge in hourly earnings is matched by a dip in the currency growth rate as the Fed tightens the supply of money to slow the economy and reduce inflationary pressure. And tighter monetary normally leads to recession.<\/p>\n<p><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" title=\"Hourly Earnings Growth compared to Currency in Circulation\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thepatientinvestor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/2017-02-07-wagerates-currency.png?w=525&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Hourly Earnings Growth compared to Currency in Circulation\" \/><\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Two anomalies on the above chart warrant explanation. First, is the sharp upward spike in currency growth in 1999\/2000 when the Fed reacted to the <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Long-Term_Capital_Management\" target=\"_blank\">LTCM crisis<\/a> with monetary stimulus despite high inflationary pressures. Second, is the sharp dip in 2010 when the Fed took its foot off the gas pedal too soon after the financial crisis of 2008\/2009, mistaking it for a regular recession.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Hourly earnings growth is currently at 2.5 percent, so the Fed has some wiggle room and is only likely to react with tighter monetary policy when the figure reaches 3.0 percent.<\/p>\n<p>Recent rate rises are more about normalizing interest rates &mdash; not taming inflation &mdash; and are not cause for alarm.<\/p>\n<p>But <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bondvigilantes.com\/blog\/2017\/02\/10\/venetians-volcker-value-risk-8-centuries-bond-market-reversals-interview-bank-undergrounds-paul-schmelzing\/\">Paul Schmelzing<\/a> warns that the combination of a tight labor market and fiscal stimulus could fuel inflation and lead to a bear market in bonds similar to the 1960s.<\/p>\n<p>That is exactly where Donald Trump is headed with a major infrastructure program likely to hit the ground next year. In a tightening labor market, the Fed would be forced to tighten monetary policy, slowing the economy and leading to another bear market in stocks as well as bonds.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"qtn\">\n<p>Politics is tricky; it cuts both ways. Every time you make a choice, it has unintended consequences.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n~ Stone Gossard\n<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>From the Trading Diary: I received a message from a US reader suggesting I should &#8220;stay out of politics&#8221;. I would love to stay out of politics. Frankly, I find it tiresome. Unfortunately, politics and the economy are so intertwined as to make the study of one meaningless without consideration of the other. I say &hellip; <\/p>\n<p class=\"link-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thepatientinvestor.com\/index.php\/2017\/02\/11\/the-threat-of-inflation\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;The Threat of Inflation&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[13,34],"tags":[1358,1722,1828,2346,2347,2356,2880],"class_list":["post-14803","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-inflation-economy","category-us-canada-countries-regions","tag-federal-reserve","tag-hourly-wage-rates","tag-inflation","tag-monetary-policy","tag-monetary-tightening","tag-money-supply","tag-recession"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>The Threat of Inflation - the patient investor<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Threat of Inflation - the patient investor\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"From the Trading Diary: I received a message from a US reader suggesting I should &#8220;stay out of politics&#8221;. I would love to stay out of politics. Frankly, I find it tiresome. Unfortunately, politics and the economy are so intertwined as to make the study of one meaningless without consideration of the other. I say &hellip; Continue reading &quot;The Threat of Inflation&quot;\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/thepatientinvestor.com\/index.php\/2017\/02\/11\/the-threat-of-inflation\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"the patient investor\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/profile.php?id=61572934660810\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2017-02-12T04:20:16+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/static.incrediblecharts.com\/images\/2017\/2017-02-11-inflation.png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"ColinTwiggs\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"ColinTwiggs\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thepatientinvestor.com\/index.php\/2017\/02\/11\/the-threat-of-inflation\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thepatientinvestor.com\/index.php\/2017\/02\/11\/the-threat-of-inflation\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"ColinTwiggs\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thepatientinvestor.com\/#\/schema\/person\/cb072791ac83e8bae585007c133d54a5\"},\"headline\":\"The Threat of Inflation\",\"datePublished\":\"2017-02-12T04:20:16+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thepatientinvestor.com\/index.php\/2017\/02\/11\/the-threat-of-inflation\/\"},\"wordCount\":899,\"commentCount\":12,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thepatientinvestor.com\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thepatientinvestor.com\/index.php\/2017\/02\/11\/the-threat-of-inflation\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.incrediblecharts.com\/images\/2017\/2017-02-11-inflation.png\",\"keywords\":[\"Federal Reserve\",\"hourly wage rates\",\"Inflation\",\"Monetary Policy\",\"monetary tightening\",\"money supply\",\"Recession\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Inflation\",\"US &amp; Canada\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/thepatientinvestor.com\/index.php\/2017\/02\/11\/the-threat-of-inflation\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thepatientinvestor.com\/index.php\/2017\/02\/11\/the-threat-of-inflation\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/thepatientinvestor.com\/index.php\/2017\/02\/11\/the-threat-of-inflation\/\",\"name\":\"The Threat of Inflation - the patient investor\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thepatientinvestor.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thepatientinvestor.com\/index.php\/2017\/02\/11\/the-threat-of-inflation\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thepatientinvestor.com\/index.php\/2017\/02\/11\/the-threat-of-inflation\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.incrediblecharts.com\/images\/2017\/2017-02-11-inflation.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2017-02-12T04:20:16+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thepatientinvestor.com\/index.php\/2017\/02\/11\/the-threat-of-inflation\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/thepatientinvestor.com\/index.php\/2017\/02\/11\/the-threat-of-inflation\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thepatientinvestor.com\/index.php\/2017\/02\/11\/the-threat-of-inflation\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.incrediblecharts.com\/images\/2017\/2017-02-11-inflation.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.incrediblecharts.com\/images\/2017\/2017-02-11-inflation.png\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thepatientinvestor.com\/index.php\/2017\/02\/11\/the-threat-of-inflation\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/thepatientinvestor.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"The Threat of Inflation\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thepatientinvestor.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/thepatientinvestor.com\/\",\"name\":\"The Patient Investor\",\"description\":\"Smart. Strategic. Unfiltered. \",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thepatientinvestor.com\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/thepatientinvestor.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thepatientinvestor.com\/#organization\",\"name\":\"The Patient Investor Pty Ltd\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/thepatientinvestor.com\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thepatientinvestor.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thepatientinvestor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/cropped-cropped-patience-bg-1-inverted-400x400-1.png?fit=250%2C250&ssl=1\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thepatientinvestor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/cropped-cropped-patience-bg-1-inverted-400x400-1.png?fit=250%2C250&ssl=1\",\"width\":250,\"height\":250,\"caption\":\"The Patient Investor Pty Ltd\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thepatientinvestor.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/profile.php?id=61572934660810\",\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/colin_thepatientinvestor\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thepatientinvestor.com\/#\/schema\/person\/cb072791ac83e8bae585007c133d54a5\",\"name\":\"ColinTwiggs\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/876c4d990bb2af282291d5f3ff81533c6deccc0c607846086647ca3272fac0ca?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/876c4d990bb2af282291d5f3ff81533c6deccc0c607846086647ca3272fac0ca?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/876c4d990bb2af282291d5f3ff81533c6deccc0c607846086647ca3272fac0ca?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"ColinTwiggs\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/thepatientinvestor.com\/index.php\/author\/colin58s\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The Threat of Inflation - the patient investor","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"follow"},"og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The Threat of Inflation - the patient investor","og_description":"From the Trading Diary: I received a message from a US reader suggesting I should &#8220;stay out of politics&#8221;. I would love to stay out of politics. Frankly, I find it tiresome. Unfortunately, politics and the economy are so intertwined as to make the study of one meaningless without consideration of the other. I say &hellip; Continue reading \"The Threat of Inflation\"","og_url":"https:\/\/thepatientinvestor.com\/index.php\/2017\/02\/11\/the-threat-of-inflation\/","og_site_name":"the patient investor","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/profile.php?id=61572934660810","article_published_time":"2017-02-12T04:20:16+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/static.incrediblecharts.com\/images\/2017\/2017-02-11-inflation.png","type":"","width":"","height":""}],"author":"ColinTwiggs","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"ColinTwiggs","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/thepatientinvestor.com\/index.php\/2017\/02\/11\/the-threat-of-inflation\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/thepatientinvestor.com\/index.php\/2017\/02\/11\/the-threat-of-inflation\/"},"author":{"name":"ColinTwiggs","@id":"https:\/\/thepatientinvestor.com\/#\/schema\/person\/cb072791ac83e8bae585007c133d54a5"},"headline":"The Threat of Inflation","datePublished":"2017-02-12T04:20:16+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/thepatientinvestor.com\/index.php\/2017\/02\/11\/the-threat-of-inflation\/"},"wordCount":899,"commentCount":12,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/thepatientinvestor.com\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/thepatientinvestor.com\/index.php\/2017\/02\/11\/the-threat-of-inflation\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.incrediblecharts.com\/images\/2017\/2017-02-11-inflation.png","keywords":["Federal Reserve","hourly wage rates","Inflation","Monetary Policy","monetary tightening","money supply","Recession"],"articleSection":["Inflation","US &amp; Canada"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/thepatientinvestor.com\/index.php\/2017\/02\/11\/the-threat-of-inflation\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/thepatientinvestor.com\/index.php\/2017\/02\/11\/the-threat-of-inflation\/","url":"https:\/\/thepatientinvestor.com\/index.php\/2017\/02\/11\/the-threat-of-inflation\/","name":"The Threat of Inflation - the patient investor","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/thepatientinvestor.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/thepatientinvestor.com\/index.php\/2017\/02\/11\/the-threat-of-inflation\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/thepatientinvestor.com\/index.php\/2017\/02\/11\/the-threat-of-inflation\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.incrediblecharts.com\/images\/2017\/2017-02-11-inflation.png","datePublished":"2017-02-12T04:20:16+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/thepatientinvestor.com\/index.php\/2017\/02\/11\/the-threat-of-inflation\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/thepatientinvestor.com\/index.php\/2017\/02\/11\/the-threat-of-inflation\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/thepatientinvestor.com\/index.php\/2017\/02\/11\/the-threat-of-inflation\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.incrediblecharts.com\/images\/2017\/2017-02-11-inflation.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.incrediblecharts.com\/images\/2017\/2017-02-11-inflation.png"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/thepatientinvestor.com\/index.php\/2017\/02\/11\/the-threat-of-inflation\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/thepatientinvestor.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"The Threat of Inflation"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/thepatientinvestor.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/thepatientinvestor.com\/","name":"The Patient Investor","description":"Smart. Strategic. Unfiltered. ","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/thepatientinvestor.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/thepatientinvestor.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/thepatientinvestor.com\/#organization","name":"The Patient Investor Pty Ltd","url":"https:\/\/thepatientinvestor.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/thepatientinvestor.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thepatientinvestor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/cropped-cropped-patience-bg-1-inverted-400x400-1.png?fit=250%2C250&ssl=1","contentUrl":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thepatientinvestor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/cropped-cropped-patience-bg-1-inverted-400x400-1.png?fit=250%2C250&ssl=1","width":250,"height":250,"caption":"The Patient Investor Pty Ltd"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/thepatientinvestor.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/profile.php?id=61572934660810","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/colin_thepatientinvestor"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/thepatientinvestor.com\/#\/schema\/person\/cb072791ac83e8bae585007c133d54a5","name":"ColinTwiggs","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/876c4d990bb2af282291d5f3ff81533c6deccc0c607846086647ca3272fac0ca?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/876c4d990bb2af282291d5f3ff81533c6deccc0c607846086647ca3272fac0ca?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/876c4d990bb2af282291d5f3ff81533c6deccc0c607846086647ca3272fac0ca?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"ColinTwiggs"},"url":"https:\/\/thepatientinvestor.com\/index.php\/author\/colin58s\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p9tQ4n-3QL","jetpack_likes_enabled":false,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":59141,"url":"https:\/\/thepatientinvestor.com\/index.php\/2024\/11\/13\/the-threat-to-fed-independence\/","url_meta":{"origin":14803,"position":0},"title":"The threat to Fed independence","author":"Colin Twiggs","date":"November 13, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"The Wall Street Journal on April 26, 2024: Donald Trump\u2019s allies are quietly drafting proposals that would attempt to erode the Federal Reserve\u2019s independence if the former president wins a second term, in the midst of a deepening divide among his advisers over how aggressively to challenge the central bank\u2019s\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;China &amp; HK&quot;","block_context":{"text":"China &amp; HK","link":"https:\/\/thepatientinvestor.com\/index.php\/category\/countries-regions\/china-hk\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":62146,"url":"https:\/\/thepatientinvestor.com\/index.php\/2025\/07\/17\/will-trump-fire-the-fed-chair\/","url_meta":{"origin":14803,"position":1},"title":"Will Trump fire the Fed Chair?","author":"Colin Twiggs","date":"July 17, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Summary President Trump is talking about firing Fed Chair Jerome Powell before his term ends in May 2026 Firing the Fed Chair would destroy confidence in the US Treasury market, raising long-term yields We believe this is a red herring intended to distract the media from the Epstein case From\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Banks &amp; Interest Rates&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Banks &amp; Interest Rates","link":"https:\/\/thepatientinvestor.com\/index.php\/category\/economy\/the-fed-banks-interest-rates\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Average Hourly Earnings","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.incrediblecharts.com\/images\/2025\/2025-07-16-u3-wages.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.incrediblecharts.com\/images\/2025\/2025-07-16-u3-wages.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.incrediblecharts.com\/images\/2025\/2025-07-16-u3-wages.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":14769,"url":"https:\/\/thepatientinvestor.com\/index.php\/2017\/02\/06\/a-bump-for-donald-trump-next-year\/","url_meta":{"origin":14803,"position":2},"title":"A bump for Donald Trump next year","author":"ColinTwiggs","date":"February 6, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"From Tim Wallace at The Age: Nine years on from the start of the financial crisis, the US recovery may be overheating, Legal & General Investment Management economist James Carrick has warned. He has predicted a series of interest rate hikes will tip the US into a 2018 recession.\"Every recession\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Banks &amp; Interest Rates&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Banks &amp; Interest Rates","link":"https:\/\/thepatientinvestor.com\/index.php\/category\/economy\/the-fed-banks-interest-rates\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":62068,"url":"https:\/\/thepatientinvestor.com\/index.php\/2025\/06\/26\/powell-trump-and-the-dollar\/","url_meta":{"origin":14803,"position":3},"title":"Powell, Trump, and the Dollar","author":"Colin Twiggs","date":"June 26, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Fed Chair Jerome Powell delivered his semiannual monetary policy report to the Congressional Committee on Financial Services. In a nutshell: The economy remains solid The labor market remains solid Inflation remains \"somewhat elevated\" compared to the Fed's 2% target Increases in tariffs this year are likely to push up prices\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Banks &amp; Interest Rates&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Banks &amp; Interest Rates","link":"https:\/\/thepatientinvestor.com\/index.php\/category\/economy\/the-fed-banks-interest-rates\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Fed Chair Jerome Powell","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.incrediblecharts.com\/images\/2025\/powell2.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":17246,"url":"https:\/\/thepatientinvestor.com\/index.php\/2018\/10\/27\/president-trump-should-look-in-the-mirror\/","url_meta":{"origin":14803,"position":4},"title":"President Trump should look in the mirror","author":"Colin Twiggs","date":"October 27, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"President Trump has repeatedly attacked the Fed and his recent appointee Jerome Powell for raising interest rates. In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, the President made clear his displeasure, stating that he sees the FOMC as the biggest risk to the US economy \u201cbecause I think interest rates\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Banks &amp; Interest Rates&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Banks &amp; Interest Rates","link":"https:\/\/thepatientinvestor.com\/index.php\/category\/economy\/the-fed-banks-interest-rates\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":26719,"url":"https:\/\/thepatientinvestor.com\/index.php\/2021\/07\/09\/larry-summers-hard-choices\/","url_meta":{"origin":14803,"position":5},"title":"Larry Summers: Hard choices at the Fed","author":"Colin Twiggs","date":"July 9, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Larry Summers discussing Fed monetary policy with Ray Dalio and Stephanie Flanders at Bloomberg: \".....The really hard monetary policy challenges are not actually moments like the period after Lehman or the period a year ago in the Spring, when there's massive illiquidity, markets are breaking down, and its entirely obvious\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Banks &amp; Interest Rates&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Banks &amp; Interest Rates","link":"https:\/\/thepatientinvestor.com\/index.php\/category\/economy\/the-fed-banks-interest-rates\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/img.youtube.com\/vi\/Xa2TrSYCJI4\/0.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thepatientinvestor.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14803","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thepatientinvestor.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thepatientinvestor.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thepatientinvestor.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thepatientinvestor.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14803"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/thepatientinvestor.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14803\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thepatientinvestor.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14803"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thepatientinvestor.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14803"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thepatientinvestor.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14803"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}