Friday Links Coming, but When?

House-Senate Panel Broadens Audits of Fed – NYT

The committee’s agreement on regular audits of the Fed would require the disclosure within one year of the names of entities that received emergency credit from the Federal Reserve, as well as the disclosure of the results of the audit of the open market operations and discount window transactions two years after those transactions were entered into.

Consumer price index ‘inflation report’ shows deflation – CS Monitor

To some forecasters, this signals the risk of dip back into recession in the US. Or, more likely, it means that central banks will be keeping interest rates low for many months to come – perhaps even into 2012.

Translation of Fed-speak into English – Patrick

The goal of the program was to provide support to mortgage and housing markets and to foster improved conditions in financial markets more generally.(Translation: The goal of the program was to ensure that the biggest banks never have to suffer the consequences of their own bad lending. We make you suffer for them instead.)

Second Phase of Crisis Coming, But When? – Todd Harrison

Reality of America’s fiscal mess starting to bite -FT

Last year, that pain was partly eased by Barack Obama’s stimulus package(s). But that spending splurge is now fading away. And in fiscal 2011 and 2012, the states are expected to face another combined budget deficit of $260bn, with the 2011 shortfall in places such as New Jersey, Illinois, Nevada and Arizona projected to be more than 35 per cent of last year’s budget.

That ’30s Feeling – Paul Krugman

What’s the economic logic behind the government’s moves? The answer, as far as I can tell, is that there isn’t any. Press German officials to explain why they need to impose austerity on a depressed economy, and you get rationales that don’t add up. Point this out, and they come up with different rationales, which also don’t add up. Arguing with German deficit hawks feels more than a bit like arguing with U.S. Iraq hawks back in 2002: They know what they want to do, and every time you refute one argument, they just come up with another.

ECB must buy ‘hundred of billions’ of bonds to tame Europe’s debt crisis – Telegraph, Ambrose Evans-Pritchard

“The ECB needs to act before contagion becomes endemic. Spain’s banking system in at the heart of an ice-storm and there is a risk of ‘sudden stop’ if they can’t roll over debt. We expect intervention, probably in covered bonds,” he said.

I Hate Austerity – Angry Bear

In any event, an austere person probably exhibits all four of the earthly virtues, and this doesn’t make him a very desirable consumer. So why are we again being told that the ownership society ought to be replaced by the Benedictine society, or possibly something along Buddhist lines?

Ah, but you see this particular “austerity” is only intended to be temporary, partial austerity, nothing permanent. It’s not austerity for all, just austerity for you.

Rapper Chamillionaire Explaining his Strategic Default