Archive for Between the Lines
Gallup: Economic Confidence Highest Since 2008
Gary D. Halbert Between the Lines Gallup’s U.S. Economic Confidence Index tipped into positive territory last week for the first time since January 2008 when the Great Recession was just starting to unfold. The Index averaged +2 for the week ending December 28, suggesting that Americans are feeling the accelerating…
The Conundrum Facing Janet Yellen & the Fed
Gary D. Halbert Between the Lines The final 2014 meeting of the Fed Open Market Committee concluded yesterday, and the official policy statement released afterward contained some new language that surprised most Fed watchers. Throughout this year, the Fed’s policy statements have included an assurance that the central bank would…
How Republicans Can Dilute Obama’s Amnesty
Gary D. Halbert Between the Lines While I try to avoid purely political topics in my weekly blog, President Obama’s latest tirade of new government policies that I discussed on Tuesday is clearly over the top. His latest Executive Order to grant defacto-amnesty to some five million illegals is, many…
Will Congress Fight Obama’s Immigration Power Grab?
Gary D. Halbert Between the Lines President Obama is expected to announce, in a prime-time speech tonight, his decision to halt deportation plans (read: amnesty) for approx. five million immigrants who came into this country illegally. Despite the landslide midterm election results, which were a clear rejection of the president’s…
What Midterm Election Results Mean for the Fed
Gary D. Halbert Between the Lines One likely result of the GOP sweep of the midterm elections on November 4 is increased scrutiny of the Federal Reserve from the new Republican majority in both chambers of Congress. Richard Shelby (R-AL), who has at times been critical of the Fed, is…
Republicans Win in “Wave” Election
Gary D. Halbert Between the Lines The biggest story from the 2014 midterms was not just how Republicans reclaimed red states they lost in 2008 – it’s how they won seats in states where Democrats thought they had no risk. The GOP won most of the so-called “purple-state” Senate battlegrounds,…