US Federal Reserve

In addition to noticing the diminishing impact of the weather (there were 26 instances of "weather" in the January beige book, down to 17 in March), one thing that caught our eyes about the Fed's March Beige Book was three odd mentions of the "stock market"(compared to zero in January) which was blamed for everything from concerning business responses, to slowing new leasing activity, to lack of activity, to wit:

Via ConvergEx's Nicholas Colas,

With yesterday’s impressive equity rally, every trader is asking the same question: “Can U.S. equities go green on the year?”  The S&P 500 is now down “just” 3.2% in 2016 and there’s nothing like a +2% one-day rally to hold out hope of actual gains before March 31.

 

Submitted by Dan Sanchez via The Mises Institute,

The Federal Reserve is a key component of the American Transfer State. Under the guise of “macroeconomic management,” it redistributes vast amounts of wealth on an ongoing basis through inflation. The victims of these transfers are ordinary Americans. The beneficiaries are the government and its elite cronies.

Submitted by Mike Holly via The Mises Institute,

Although the causes of economic crises recurring throughout US history and often spreading worldwide can’t be proven using empirical means, oppressive government regulations favoring special interests in relevant industries have preceded every crisis.

Submitted by Eugen von Bohm-Bawerk via Bawerk.net,

In a recent article by Kessler Companies (hat tip Zerohedge) they correctly point out that inflation, as measured by the consumer price index, have a tendency to accelerate as the US economy moves into a recession.

Contrary to popular belief, the beginning of a recession is not deflationary but the exact opposite. As can be seen from the chart, consumer prices do indeed move higher into recessions as represented by the shaded areas.