The Longbrake Letter
- Bill Longbrake
Now that spring has sprung, the U.S. economy is beginning to look a little more spritely. But someone forgot to tell the stock market. Perhaps the stock market's recent snit is reflecting nascent anxieties that faster economic growth will unleash inflation. In this month's letter, Bill Longbrake discusses recent improvements in economic activity and examines whether inflation will be the next big problem faced by the U.S. economy, or whether deflation is really the greater threat.

Shifting Demographics Raise Orange Flags
- Bob Barnett
Changing demographics raise questions about the demand for and ability to access financial services products, particularly residential mortgages. At this stage, trends are not yet fully determined, but present movements raise questions that lenders need to consider in their planning.

Reforming the Financial Regulators: An Incremental Approach
- Jim Sivon
The Bipartisan Policy Center's latest report on financial regulation takes a new approach to restructuring the financial regulatory agencies.

The Reasons for the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act
- Ray Natter
The allegation that the partial repeal of the Glass-Steagall Act is an underlying cause has been taken up by the popular press and talk show hosts, but the facts do not appear to support this views.

Johnson-Crapo for Dummies
- Bob Barnett
The Senate banking Committee plans to markup a draft bill sponsored by Chairman Johnson and Ranking Member Crapo. For those who do not have time to read the entire bill, here is a short form that is designed to cover the major points in the bill as well as some background to it.