TALF 2.0 makes the Fed's balance sheet both bigger and stickier.

Inflation can take hold even in a sluggish and credit-impaired economy.

The IMF doesn't determine the gold price. The Fed's response function does.

The Fed sees the inflation risk in its huge balance sheet -- but there's nothing it can do.

Wells Fargo's pre-announcement is encouraging, but don't generalize it to all banks.

SDRs are inflationary helicopter money, and IMF aid does more harm than good.

The risk of a near-term "bag run," and a long-term drag on the whole banking sector.

High yield spreads say the worst is over, but they're not yet fully predicting recovery.

Of course the economy has improved slightly -- but the Fed remains bent on inflation.

There's no Q1 retrenchment of consumption -- there's a shock to investment.