How Does the Fed Manage Inflation?

Cycles of inflation and its opposite number deflation have been part of the American financial landscape for well over a century. While some of these cycles are affected by outside events such as wartime, what many consumers don’t know is that our very own central...

What’s Behind the World’s Debt Crisis?

On one spring day in late April 2014, the world’s debt clock checked in at a staggering $60, 656, 668, 640,014. That number changes by the minute, as do the totals for interest accrued – over $1,000 every minute. The world is deep in debt – and becoming more indebted...

Will Deflation Derail World Economies?

Low prices delight consumers. But those falling prices may signal darker days ahead in the form of deflation, which flattens economies and leads to long-term recession. As prices drop and sales flatten in many of the world’s leading economies, experts fear a global...

International Conflict Hits Americans In the Wallet

It’s a small, small world, as the old song goes. And that’s increasingly obvious as events across the globe have the power to hit Americans hard at home. In a world that’s ever more connected, global conflicts can quickly become local ones, with consequences for the...

The Dollar’s Stil a Mainstay of World Currency

The venerable American dollar has taken a beating of sorts in recent months, facing fluctuating values in world markets and incursions from digital alternatives like the Bitcoin. But even with its ups and downs, the dollar’s still king in a world hungry for currency...

Does the Ukraine Crisis Affect US Money Matters?

As Russian troops seized control half a world away in Ukraine, and international tensions began to rise, we've been uncomfortably reminded that in an interlinked global economy, what happens across the globe can also affect conditions in our own backyard. Because the...

Property or Currency? The IRS Weighs In On the Bitcoin

It’s been said that nothing’s certain but death and taxes, and while the former may not apply to the Bitcoin, the latter certainly does. The IRS has caught up with the ever-growing virtual currency. And the tax police’s new guidelines only add to the questions about...

Social Media Missteps Can Hurt Credit

It’s an open secret that companies routinely Google job applicants and examine their social media profiles as part of the hiring process. But in a more regulated and cautious lending atmosphere, banks and other financial institutions are starting to look at the social...

A QE Architect Tells All – And It’s Not Pretty

The Federal Reserve has spent over $4 trillion buying up mortgage-backed securities in it much-publicized Quantitative Easing plan to boost the economy. But, according to a new op-ed confessional by a former QE architect, the main beneficiaries have been the big banks...

Is the Dollar Losing Its Global Luster?

The dust is settling after the end of the government shutdown, but the dollar continues its downward slide. As the world’s leading reserve currency struggles amid concerns about its long term stability, some countries are calling for an alternative reserve money and...