Federal regulators are plotting a course that could see America’s sturdiest banks tied to a sinking lifeboat. This plan, designed to compel banks to use the Federal Reserve’s discount window, aims to normalize the act of reaching for this financial lifeline amidst turbulent seas.
It’s as if the Fed is asking the healthiest swimmers to don faulty life jackets first, in a bid to make them seem less alarming to those already struggling to stay afloat. Our guest commentator explains why this strategy, while intended to fortify the banking sector against future storms, would endanger all US banks.
After a delicate dance of interest rate increases, Jerome Powell has declared victory on inflation and says to expect looser monetary policy this year. But with junk bond spreads not widening nearly as much as one would expect during an era of economic tightening, you’ve got to wonder if money is still actually looser than the Fed’s last round of hikes would lead you to believe.
The number of corporate debt defaults in 2023 has already exceeded the total number of defaults last year.
According to data from Moody Investment Services, 55 American-based companies defaulted on loans through the first half of 2023. That was a 53% increase over the total number of defaults in 2022.
With a debt ceiling deal done, the threat of a US government default is off the table for the time being. But a wave of corporate defaults is on the horizon according to Deutsche Bank’s annual default study.
This is the inevitable consequence of central bank monetary policy and it was entirely predictable.
We are in the midst of yet another debt ceiling fight.
This is mostly political theater. That being the case, both Democrats and Republicans are using the drama in an effort to score political points and push policy in their preferred direction.
And since politicians are involved, they’re telling a lot of lies.
The fake debt ceiling fight is on and the Biden administration has ratcheted up the scare tactics. One of its strategies is to make you think the world will collapse if the US defaults on its debt obligations. After all, the US always pays its bills on time — so we’re told.
A default would certainly be problematic. But despite what you’re being told, it’s not unprecedented. The US government has defaulted before.