John Cox

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The Big Picture

What's Upsetting the Bond Market? - The Big Picture

Bond markets are struggling due to five major crosscurrents: inflationary policies (tariffs and war), Fed disruption under new leadership that's changing how the central bank operates and communicates, confusion about what inflation target makes sense in today's economy, ineffective Treasury buybacks, and rapidly rising debt servicing costs on a $40 trillion national debt. The author argues that these self-inflicted policy wounds—lack of Fed clarity, Treasury gimmickry, and counterproductive White House policies—have sent bond yields higher as markets react to actions rather than stated intentions, and recommends bond investors seek higher yields through municipal bonds and TIPS while broader policy dysfunction continues.

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www.theatlantic.com

Trump Almost Has a Point About the Federal Reserve

While Trump's plan to control the Federal Reserve is likely illegal and dangerous, the article argues that Democrats should not simply defend the status quo. The Fed deserves independence over interest-rate setting to shield monetary policy from electoral pressure, but it has abused its broader powers—including bank regulation, payment systems oversight, and emergency lending—consistently favoring financial institutions over ordinary people, from its refusal to regulate subprime mortgages before 2008 to its miserly $17.5 billion Main Street lending during the pandemic versus over $100 billion to Wall Street. The solution is legislation that preserves Fed independence for monetary policy while stripping away its other authorities and transferring them to democratically accountable institutions like the comptroller of the currency or FDIC.

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