US money supply plunges at 1930s pace as Obama eyes fresh stimulus
The M3 money supply in the United States is contracting at an accelerating rate that now matches the average decline seen from 1929 to 1933, despite near zero interest rates and the biggest fiscal blitz in history.
By Ambrose Evans-Pritchard, Telegraph
The M3 figures – which include broad range of bank accounts and are tracked by British and European monetarists for warning signals about the direction of the US economy a year or so in advance – began shrinking last summer. The pace has since quickened.
The stock of money fell from $14.2 trillion to $13.9 trillion in the three months to April, amounting to an annual rate of contraction of 9.6pc. The assets of insitutional money market funds fell at a 37pc rate, the sharpest drop ever.
"It’s frightening," said Professor Tim Congdon from International Monetary Research. "The plunge in M3 has no precedent since the Great Depression. The dominant reason for this is that regulators across the world are pressing banks to raise capital asset ratios and to shrink their risk assets. This is why the US is not recovering properly," he said.
The US authorities have an entirely different explanation for the failure of stimulus measures to gain full traction. They are opting instead for yet further doses of Keynesian spending, despite warnings from the IMF that the gross public debt of the US will reach 97pc of GDP next year and 110pc by 2015.
Larry Summers, President Barack Obama’s top economic adviser, has asked Congress to "grit its teeth" and approve a fresh fiscal boost of $200bn to keep growth on track. "We are nearly 8m jobs short of normal employment. For millions of Americans the economic emergency grinds on," he said.
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Jr. Deputy Accountant notes:
That’s THIRD Stimulus, Not Second
nope, you’re not getting a check this time either…
Remember standing by the mailbox waiting for Bushy Jr’s stimulus? So let’s keep that in perspective when discussing an additional stimulus measure – proposed by cheeseburger addict and serial maniac Larry Summers. Don’t credit Obama with making this statement, he was busy here in my home base of San Francisco this week trying to whore himself out for the sake of Barbara Boxer’s reelection campaign. Sexy.
The FT is reporting that our greasy friend Larry wants more money, though not nearly as much as the last time by the sound of things. You know, just a little bit more, since the first bit (or second, depending on when you started counting) is working so damn well. However, let’s give a point to Larry for getting real and actually stating "a move to fiscal discipline would be premature at this point in the cycle." You know, why start pinching pennies now?
Only $200 billion, that’s the Walmart of bailouts if you ask me.
