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Jon Hilsenrath. Greg Ip. Nick Timiraos.

3 Fed whisperers. What a treat to read their tributes to Alan Greenspan. Thanks Jon, Greg & Nick for writing.

@greg_ip
@NickTimiraos

With Greenspan's passing, it's worth revisiting why so many missed the financial crisis. Key contributor was an instruction to GSEs lower lending standards followed by not publishing financials. Reports on the financial crisis conveniently skip this. 👇 x.com/AxelMerk/statu…

The US does not need a quasi or outright guarantee on its mortgage sector. This creates perverse incentives and blew up in 2008. The solution is to dismantle the GSEs, not to over-regulate the banks.

Greenspan was blamed for missing warning clues of the looming financial crisis. He did.
The wrong conclusion is that he trusted free markets too much. There was (or is) nothing free about the GSEs, a Ponzi Scheme created in the 1930s.
wsj.com/economy/centra…

The maestro is dead. RIP. x.com/AxelMerk/statu…

.@nfergus contrasts Trump's 14 point plan with Wilson's 14 point plan after WWI. Lots of contrasts, of course, but key message is that developments post agreement may be very different from what was envisioned, even if consequences are monumental.
thefp.com/p/niall-fergus…

Why California - which heavily relies on oil from the Middle East- did not run out of jet fuel x.com/cpgrabow/statu…