Alan Greenspan
Former Fed head
Alan Greenspan served as chairman of the U.S.
Federal Reserve from 1987 to 2006, the second-longest tenure in that position.
His name became shorthand for monetary policy itself during the boom years: Markets hung on every word Greenspan said.
His opaque speaking style, later called "Fedspeak," was deliberately vague to avoid spooking markets.
The 2008 financial crisis tarnished his legacy, as critics blamed his light-touch regulation for enabling the housing bubble.
Objectivist movement founder
- objectivismBelief in external truths
- laissez-faireNoninterference in commerce
- free marketCommerce without state intervention
- deregulationRemoving governmental business restrictions
gold standard · econometrics · forecasting · data analysis · productivity growth · housing bubble · dot-com bubble · self-regulation
US central banking system
- monetary policyCentral bank economic controls
- interest ratesPrice paid for borrowing
- central bankNational currency management institution
- FOMCFed's policy-setting body
rate hikes · inflation control · banking regulation · financial stability · economic forecasts · congressional testimony · Jackson Hole · irrational exuberance
Unjustified collective market optimism
- maestroDistinguished musical leader
- OracleProphetic shrine or speaker
- conundrumPerplexing problem or question
- measured paceRegulated speed of movement
Fedspeak · ambiguity · opacity · congressional testimony · autobiography · crisis response · Y2K · controversial
Ayn Rand
Objectivist movement founder
- objectivismBelief in external truths
- laissez-faireNoninterference in commerce
- free marketCommerce without state intervention
deregulation · gold standard · econometrics · forecasting · data analysis · productivity growth · housing bubble · dot-com bubble · self-regulation · derivatives
Federal Reserve
US central banking system
- monetary policyCentral bank economic controls
- interest ratesPrice paid for borrowing
- central bankNational currency management institution
FOMC · rate hikes · inflation control · banking regulation · financial stability · economic forecasts · congressional testimony · Jackson Hole · irrational exuberance · easy money
irrational exuberance
Unjustified collective market optimism
- maestroDistinguished musical leader
- OracleProphetic shrine or speaker
- conundrumPerplexing problem or question
measured pace · Fedspeak · ambiguity · opacity · congressional testimony · autobiography · crisis response · Y2K · controversial · criticism
Alan GreenspanKarl Marx
John Maynard Keynes · Paul Krugman · Bernie Sanders · Keynesian