In this week's Off The Cuff podcast, Chris and Axel Merk discuss:
- Taper Tantrum 2.0?
- The Fed wants to tighten. But can it?
- Bad Balance Sheets
- Can central banks simply hold their bad assets forever?
- The Flattening Yield Curve
- A classic signal of approaching recession
- Bitcoin
- Trying to make sense of the recent run-up
Recorded before today's FMOC announcement, Chris and Axel discuss the next moves of the central banks, who's intervention and collusion have driven markets more than any other factor over the past decade. Most people don't realize that monthly liquidity injections are currentlyat their highest ever since QE began.
Now that the Fed is talking seriously about tightening — can it? Or will the markets revert to throwing a tantrum as the global liquidity spigots begin to reduce their flow?
The Fed is a little bit ahead of the game having to started to "taper". Madam Yellen tells us it should be like watching paint dry on a wall, which means we shouldn't worry about it. Part of the reason she can say that is because other central banks are still printing — although the ECB is planning to stop next September. The Bank of Japan hasn't needed to do much printing because they can keep their long yield where they want it to be. But, despite Yellen's soothing words, it's going to be a concern. Just like any tightening, it's not an issue until it is. So one of the things the Fed is telling you, "Hey,
by cmartenson 
