Not for nothing do her initials also stand for ‘Central Bank.’ For
nearly two decades, Caroline Baum has produced incisive commentary
on central bank policy, the ebbs and flows of the economy, and how
they influence the bond market. Her much sought-after, real-time
analysis is read by a devoted audience on the BLOOMBERG
PROFESSIONAL service within seconds after it appears. The word on
the Street is that reading Caroline Baum is an economic education
in itself.
This selection from her more than 1, 300 Bloomberg News columns,
arranged by major themes and with new introductions by the author,
condenses and organizes that wisdom for the first time in print
form.
Tabella dei contenuti
Preface
Acknowledgments.
Introduction.
1 Ye of Little Faith.
Why the Federal Reserve gets so much attention, yet so little
credit, for the outcomes it effects.
2 The Bubble, or This Time Really Is Different!
Like terminally ill patients, the late 1990s bubble in
technology and Internet stocks passed through the five stages of
dying: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, acceptance. It didn’t
turn out any better for the market.
3 Still Nonsense After All These Years.
Driving a stake through the heart of popular delusions: Why
acts of God aren’t good for growth, costs don’t push up inflation,
and demand in the economy isn’t finite.
4 Myths Under the Microscope.
Repeating something often enough doesn’t make it true. You’d
never know it from the misconceptions that survive about tax cuts,
trade, and liquidity traps.
5 First Principles.
How the Pilgrims learned about the value of incentives, and
how backyard birding sheds light on the law of supply and
demand.
6 Understanding the Yield Curve.
One rate is set by the central bank, the other by the market.
The message couldn’t be simpler, which is probably why most
economists ignore it.
7 The ‘Political’ Economy.
What happens when the heavy hand of government tries to
intrude on the invisible hand of the market.
8 Sir Alan.
To some, he’s a man for all seasons, a knight for all ages.
To others, he’s the emperor with no clothes. His day job is
chairman of the Federal Reserve Board.
9 What Would We Do Without a Dollar Policy?
How an insipid slogan morphed into a policy, and why we are
stuck with it.
10 Off the Charts.
Sexagenarians bracket the big bull market in bonds, while
technical traders are blindsided by the canoe over the
waterfall.
11 Odd Ducks.
It’s a challenge to ring out the year on a creative note, but
sniffing out a shaggy dog story from Petsmart is a slam
dunk.
12 Oil Things to Oil People.
We can’t live without it, but we don’t seem to understand it:
Why the Fed can’t sign over monetary policy to OPEC.
13 Rewriting History.
Politicians never let the facts stand between them and a
little historical revisionism.
14 Men in Black.
Who are the Plunge Protection Team, and what are they doing
in the financial markets?
15 No One Else Would Write About This.
Why automated phone menus and other productivity-enhancing
devices are a headache for the consumer and an unmeasured form of
inflation.
16 Love Affair.
Why bonds like to hook up and even fall in love.
17 Bumbling Bureaucrats.
How an international lending agency reinvented itself as an
überadviser once it had outlived its purpose.
18 The 2004 Election.
Why a presidential candidate has to run as somebody, not as
anybody-but-his-opponent.
19 Readers Write Back at You.
Readers send their unedited thoughts into cyberspace, never
expecting anyone to read them or reply.
Index.
Circa l’autore
Caroline Baum has been a columnist at Bloomberg News since 1998. She has been writing about the economy and the bond market since 1987. In 2004 and 2005, she received first-place National Headliner Awards in the wire service/commentary category.