Keeping the Interest in Interest Rates

Keeping the Interest in Interest Rates

We have been critical of the government’s heavy-handedness and zero interest rate policy (“ZIRP”) over the last few years, worried that it was artificially propping up an economy that needed to establish itself and find its own equilibrium. It can be analogized as a youngster learning to ride a bike with training wheels, but the wheels are kept on too long and after seven years of well-intentioned help, you have a teenager who can’t balance on their own and must start from the beginning all over again. 

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Yuan A Piece of Me?!

Yuan A Piece of Me?!

Once again China has commanded the headlines, this time over the miss-characterized “devaluing” of the yuan renminbi (RMB), the Chinese currency. The currency wasn’t so much directly devalued as it was allowed to more widely de-peg from the US dollar and let market forces play a more direct role in the valuation of the currency. This lead to a weaker currency.

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