Category: Uncategorized

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Currency and money markets news scan: Banks can now engage in certain crypto activity. Is tariff talk getting tiring?

What we are reading: Banks. Crypto. “The U.S. regulator overseeing national banks clarified Friday that banks can engage in some crypto activities and removed expectations firms should receive advance permission from regulators before doing so. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency said in a statement that national banks are permitted to engage in … Continue reading Currency and money markets news scan: Banks can now engage in certain crypto activity. Is tariff talk getting tiring?

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Currency and money markets news scan: Don’t get triggered by the politics. One man is not the economy.

The Takeaway: Don’t get triggered by the politics. One man is not the economy. No amount of reason is going to quiet the Trump Derangement Syndrome running rampant through the electorate of the United States. I am in the camp that the President does not have a reach extensive enough to put a negative dent … Continue reading Currency and money markets news scan: Don’t get triggered by the politics. One man is not the economy.

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Currency and money markets news scan: Trump wants to reverse an “inflation catastrophe.”

The takeaway: Trump wants a balanced budget, but half the work is already done. 15 USC § 3101(b)(2) lists as one of the goals for economic growth a balanced budget. Specifically, the section reads: “(2) Aggregate monetary and fiscal policies alone have been unable to achieve full employment and production, increased real income, balanced growth, … Continue reading Currency and money markets news scan: Trump wants to reverse an “inflation catastrophe.”

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Currency and money markets news scan: Positioning ourselves to benefit from a rebuild of Ukraine infrastructure.

The takeaway: Turning the Ukraine-Russia war into a play on infrastructure. Among my general thesis about government is that it plays a role in making a market. In the 1700s and 1800s, the United States was in essence a realtor, selling land to settlers who promised to develop the vast territory of the United States. … Continue reading Currency and money markets news scan: Positioning ourselves to benefit from a rebuild of Ukraine infrastructure.

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Interbank market news scan: The bitcoin bros need to make an argument as to why a bitcoin strategic reserve is constitutional.

Proponents of bitcoin were very excited about the prospects of President Donald Trump creating a bitcoin strategic reserve. This prospect was fueled by support from Senator Cynthia Lummis, Republican of Wyoming, who last year introduced S.4912, the BITCOIN Act of 2024. S.4912 would require the Secretary of the Treasury to establish a “decentralized network of … Continue reading Interbank market news scan: The bitcoin bros need to make an argument as to why a bitcoin strategic reserve is constitutional.

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Interbank market news scan: On interest rates, traders be advised that Mr. Trump is out of his lane

Yesterday, U.S. President Donald Trump stated that he would demand that the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System lower interest rates. Mr. Trump’s off the cuff remarks reminded me of a scene from “Air Force One” where Harrison Ford’s character during a speech made in a central Asian country shared a position on … Continue reading Interbank market news scan: On interest rates, traders be advised that Mr. Trump is out of his lane

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Trump’s America First Trade Policy: Applying Law to the Manifest Destiny Narrative.

There is mumbling amongst the narrative class that legal action is being prepared to address some of President Donald Trump’s executive orders issued yesterday. I cannot say with specificity that Mr. Trump’s America First Trade Policy is among the executive orders targeted for legal action. I am particularly focused on the portion of his America … Continue reading Trump’s America First Trade Policy: Applying Law to the Manifest Destiny Narrative.

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Interbank market news scan: Trump makes an inflation promise that he can’t keep.

U.S. President Donald J. Trump promised today during his inaugural address that he would address the levels of inflation brought on by government overspending and high energy costs. He offered as a solution the old mantra, “Drill, baby, drill” implying that increases in the supply of American extracted and processed oil and gas would increase … Continue reading Interbank market news scan: Trump makes an inflation promise that he can’t keep.

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Interbank market news scan: Is the U.S. House task force on monetary policy more political than monetary?

U.S. Representative French Hill, Republican of Arkansas and chairman of the U.S. House Committee on Financial Services, announced earlier this week the formation of the Monetary Policy, Treasury Market Resilience, and Economic Prosperity Task Force. According to Mr. Hill’s statement: “The Committee’s new Task Force will conduct hearings looking into issues relating to monetary policy, … Continue reading Interbank market news scan: Is the U.S. House task force on monetary policy more political than monetary?