Time: 2009 Person of the Year, Ben Bernanke
He just happens to be the most powerful nerd on the planet.
Bernanke is the 56-year-old chairman of the Federal Reserve, the central bank of the U.S., the most important and least understood force shaping the American — and global — economy. Those green bills featuring dead Presidents are labeled federal reserve note for a reason: the Fed controls the money supply. It is an independent government agency that conducts monetary policy, which means it sets short-term interest rates — which means it has immense influence over inflation, unemployment, the strength of the dollar and the strength of your wallet. And ever since global credit markets began imploding, its mild-mannered chairman has dramatically expanded those powers and reinvented the Fed.
US needs less haste and more thought – Financial Times
The US debate over financial regulation inspires no confidence. The House of Representatives has passed a bill modelled on – or at least starting from – the administration’s proposals. Attention now turns to the Senate, which will write its own plan, and then to a conference of both chambers to fashion final measures. Things are moving: the problem is not lack of activity but lack of thought.
Gold Buying by Central Banks May Send Signal to Sell – Bloomberg
Will the US Reinstate Glass Steagall? – The Big Picture
Is it possible that true financial reform might take place?
That the too big to fail banks might be broken up? That the era of endless taxpayer subsidy to banker speculation is coming to an end?
CPI and Falling Rents – Calculated Risk
Based on reports of falling rents – and a record high vacancy rate, OER will probably continue to fall for some time, keeping core CPI low and possibly negative next year.
Housing starts accelerate in November – The Los Angeles Times
U.S. gave up billions in tax money in deal for Citigroup’s bailout repayment – The Washington Post
The federal government quietly agreed to forgo billions of dollars in potential tax payments from Citigroup as part of the deal announced this week to wean the company from the massive taxpayer bailout that helped it survive the financial crisis.
…
“The government is consciously forfeiting future tax revenues. It’s another form of assistance, maybe not as obvious as direct assistance but certainly another form,” said Robert Willens, an expert on tax accounting who runs a firm of the same name. “I’ve been doing taxes for almost 40 years, and I’ve never seen anything like this, where the IRS and Treasury acted unilaterally on so many fronts.”
