End of the Cheap Money Era?

Will the Fed signal the end of an era characterized by cheap money?
http://www.dw.com/en/cheap-money-end-of-an-era/a-18716527

U of Chicago financial economist John Cochrane argue for a delay in monetary normalization:
http://www.wsj.com/articles/the-fed-neednt-rush-to-normalize-1442441737

American Economy – A Not So Great Recovery

Neil Irwin of the NYT notes -

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/17/upshot/why-americans-still-think-the-economy-is-terrible.html

“The median American household in 2014 had a lower income, in inflation-adjusted terms, than it did in 2013. The $53,657 the household in the middle of the income distribution earned last year was down 1.5 percent from the year before, though the census said that shift was not statistically significant.

But even if that drop is a statistical blip and you assume that middle-class incomes were really flat, flat isn’t anything to celebrate in the current environment. The 2014 real median income number is 6.5 percent below its 2007, pre-crisis level. It is 7.2 percent below the number in 1999.”

Decision Time for the Fed

Will the Fed Raise Rates in Sept?

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-09-15/why-the-fed-is-likely-to-stand-pat-this-week

http://www.economist.com/news/leaders/21664137-fed-should-wait-until-inflation-closer-target-raising-rates-false-start

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/b1ebac86-556b-11e5-9846-de406ccb37f2.html

Fed’s Monetary Toolkit in the Post-QE Era

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/13/business/economy/the-feds-policy-mechanics-retool-for-a-rise-in-interest-rates.html
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2015/09/12/business/economy/fed-rates-explainer.html

Reforming China’s SOE

A major task ahead for Chinese policymakers – Reform state owned enterprises:

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-09-15/china-leaders-said-to-consult-old-master-zhu-rongji-over-reform

http://www.bloombergview.com/articles/2015-09-08/china-should-be-careful-about-selling-off-state-owned-companies
http://www.wsj.com/articles/china-to-allow-state-owned-enterprises-to-sell-shares-to-public-1442138335

Zimbabwe’s Land Redistribution Scheme – Unintended Consequences

A very interesting real-world case study for those interested in economic development:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/africa/zimbabwe-seized-white-farmers-land-now-some-are-being-invited-back/2015/09/14/456f66d6-45d2-11e5-9f53-d1e3ddfd0cda_story.html

Shiller on Market Valuations

ETFs - Wildly Popular and Potential Dangerous

Fundamental defects become apparent in a wildly popular financial product as market gyrations increase:

http://www.wsj.com/articles/wild-trading-exposed-flaws-in-etfs-1442174925

“At issue is one of Wall Street’s most popular products ever. Investors have poured hundreds of billions of dollars into ETFs over the past decade, drawn by low fees and the prospect of being able to buy or sell a mutual-fund-like product whenever they want like a stock. But trading records and conversations with investors show ETFs couldn’t keep that promise when the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped more than 1,000 points in the first minutes of trading on Aug. 24.”

Related:

The growing popularity of ETFs may be affecting financial market stability in the US:

http://www.wsj.com/articles/stock-market-tumult-exposes-flaws-in-modern-markets-1440547138