What we’re reading (10/30)
“Cash-Rich Consumers Could Mean Higher Interest Rates For Longer” (Wall Street Journal). “Washington’s response to the pandemic left household and business finances in unusually strong shape, with higher savings buffers and lower interest expenses. It could also make the Federal Reserve’s job of taming high inflation more difficult.”
“Inflation Data Shows US Prices Were Still Uncomfortably High Last Month” (CNN Business). “A new batch of inflation data released Friday showed that while prices remained uncomfortably high in September, a slowdown in wage growth indicates some relief may be in sight. That’s an encouraging development for the Federal Reserve, which is battling to bring down the highest inflation in 40 years.”
“Vivek Ramaswamy And The Larry Fink Problem” (National Review). “David is joined this week by Vivek Ramaswamy, the author of the best-selling book, Woke Inc., to talk about a moral defense of markets. They go all around the horn in looking at where the Business Roundtable got it all wrong, where so-called “stakeholder” capitalism is an exercise in futility, and what market solutions exist to the so-called ‘Larry Fink problem.’ An absolute premium episode.”
“Drain The Strategic Petroleum Reserve” (EconLib). “There are 2 justifications for his selling oil from the SPR currently. One is philosophical; the other is pragmatic. The philosophical justification is that the government shouldn’t be in the business of supplying oil. One of the strongest arguments for futures markets is that they give private actors a strong incentive to store oil when they think the price will rise in the future and to sell oil when they think it will fall in the future. The government gums up the works by being an unpredictable participant in the market for oil. So it’s best not to have the government in that market at all. The way to get to that point is to sell the oil. The pragmatic justification for selling oil right now is that the current price is unusually high and will likely be lower. The spot price of oil on October 20, reported by the Wall Street Journal on October 21, was $85.98 per barrel. The futures price for December 2023 was reported as $74.81. So this is a good time to sell.”
