There has been a lot of talk about a rebound in the equity and real estate markets helped along by the Fed's free money. That much is for sure the truth; but the evidence of a viable and sustainable recovery built on free-market forces just isn't there.

The end of these unconventional monetary policies will come and may pose threats to financial stability because of the length and breadth of their unprecedented reign. Policymakers should be alert to the risks and take gradual and predictable measures to address them.

* U.S. central bank adopting series of policy guidelines * Next on agenda: economic thresholds to guide rate hikes * Bernanke expected to st...

That investors are far from bullish may indicate more life and potential upside to this market rally. But nobody really knows. The third quarter saw quality blue chips enjoy better relative performance. As our posture remains defensive, we hope that this beneficial trend will continue.

BAGHDAD — Iraq abruptly removed the longtime governor of the country's central bank Tuesday after he and other bank officials were targeted in a...

Central banks should be respected. And they can certainly counter air pockets, but not forever. Either fundamentals will improve or asset prices will fall. Which outcome we eventually see depends in large part on whether other government entities finally step up to their policy responsibilities.

Stock markets around the world continue to levitate despite the fact that the fundamentals behind the global economy continue to deteriorate. But that weak and worsening economic data didn't stop investors from sending stocks higher.

Is it possible that policy makers and investors have already enjoyed all the good news and rising prices they are going to get from recent Central Bank action?

* G20 deputies eye global economy with concern * Delegates say "currency wars" not big issue * Urge governments to do mo...

Surprise! The Federal Reserve did something pretty much no one thought they would do: they announced dramatic additions to monetary accommodation less than two months before the elections.

The Fed has a tiger by the tail with its program. It is creating a giant bubble in capital asset prices, especially in our stock markets. To let the tiger go is to be eaten.

Central bankers seem to be the only policymakers both willing and able to respond to many unusual challenges. Yes they are using imperfect tools. Yes the outcomes of their actions involve collateral damage and unintended consequences. But they see all this as preferable to the alternative of doing nothing.

In this upside down world of phony Keynesian Economics, doing "whatever it takes to preserve the Euro" apparently now means promising to dilute the purchasing power of the currency into oblivion.

Regardless of whether Draghi's recent statements were a statement of the obvious, investors seized upon the words as a way to try to force the ECB to take action.

If they get their wish, watch for the gold market to explode higher in price, as the U.S. dollar sinks into the abyss.

No matter what anyone tells you, it stands to reason that this European crisis is significant and will be around for quite a while longer. What will markets do?

Shouldn't money have some relation to actual wealth? Isn't wealth not just numbers on a screen, but something like those things and services that meet human desires, produced by labor and using the fruits of the Earth?

We now have entire nations which have become insolvent. It would be very difficult to argue that having a banking crisis is better than enduring a sovereign debt crisis, especially since much of the assets banks hold is sovereign debt.

WASHINGTON — Chairman Ben Bernanke said Friday that the Federal Reserve was left with few good options when it stepped in to shore up the larges...

WASHINGTON -- The Federal Reserve has issued policy guidelines for banks turning foreclosed homes they own into rentals, a trend that could help boost...

This week's market action serves as a vivid reminder of how dependent valuations are on central bank policies. The question for markets thus boils down to whether central banks will do more; and the issues these institutions face are extremely and increasingly complex.