Economics 311:  Financial Markets

Data

• How is Investment Demand doing?

• How are the various measure of the Money Supply doing?  M1, M2

• Growth of the Monetary Base  1980-2007

• Growth of the Monetary Base since 2007

• Growth of the Monetary Base 1980-now

For interest:

• • What is "the interest rate?"  It depends...

  • What is happening to the "monetary base" that the Federal Reserve has made available for bank reserves?

  • How much are banks holding in "excess reserves" these days?

  • The Fed's balance sheet is very scary looking these days.  Here is a timeline for how it got that way.

•     For interest:  There are these items on the asset part of the Fed's balance sheet called "Maiden Lane?"  What the heck?

  • For fun:  "It's a Wonderful Life" movie bank run.  Here is the script.

  • NU alumnus William Jennings Bryan's "Cross of Gold" speech from 1896

  • "The Wizard of Oz as a Monetary Allegory," Hugh Rockoff, Journal of Political Economy, 1990

  • A Time Magazine history of the Federal Reserve in photos

• NPR "This American Life" audio programs about how we crashed the financial system.

  • • "The Giant Pool of Money," May 9, 2008  (Short version)

    • "Another Frightening Show about the Economy," Oct. 3, 2008

    • "Bad Bank," Feb. 27, 2009  (Bank balance sheets!)

    • "Return of the Giant Pool of Money," Sept. 25, 2009

    • "Other People's Money," Oct. 16, 2009

For amusement:

• The Fed's Helicopter 

  • What is Money?  (The Onion)

  • Where's George?  (An NU video tracking how dollar bills flow around the country)

• The European Central Bank has produced an information kit entitled "Price stability: why is it important for you?" for young teenagers and teachers, including an eight minute cartoon (which is great).  "Wait a minute. I know you. You are inflation!"

• We would be way better off if we would get rid of the penny.  

• Monty Python's "The Money Song"

• Randy Newman's "It's Money that Matters"