In the 1970s prices rose faster than income when the Fed created money to hold interest rates down.
Even so, politicians could conceivably try to hold interest rates down, either by forcing banks and others to own government debt or by ordering the central bank to keep rates low or to buy the debt outright.
The absurdity of how fast we can trade is eclipsed only by how low we can hold down interest rates.
But the prospect of sluggish growth also reinforced views that the Fed will continue to rely on bond-buying to hold down interest rates, which generally boosts the appeal of stocks.
First, higher personal-saving rates and (more optimistically) a lower federal deficit will hold down long-term interest rates and the cost of capital.
By producing goods more cheaply and so helping to hold down inflation and interest rates in rich economies, China may have indirectly encouraged excessive credit creation and asset-price bubbles there.
It is true that bond yields usually start to rise once recoveries are firmly under way, because investors expect central banks to raise short-term interest rates in order to hold down inflation.
He urged the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee to keep interest rates on hold at 6% at its meeting next month and to signal that rates will come down in future.
Thanks to globalisation and technology, which have helped to hold down inflation, central banks have recently not needed to raise interest rates by as much as in past cycles.
The subprime market had always existed because the higher risks were balanced by higher fees and interest rates, but the CRA pressured banks to increase loans and to hold down fees.
Not only has the currency's strength helped to hold down American inflation, but a collapse would make it harder for the Fed to slash interest rates if the economy were to slow more sharply than expected.
应用推荐