Solveig M Singleton

April's CPI data is concerning. 3-mth annualized headline inflation is 7.1% and core is 3.2%. Oil price shocks are trickling into other products and soon the Fed won't be able to simply ignore the Iran situation. Read my latest @MarketWatch op-ed here: marketwatch.com/story/warsh-fa…

Recently, the Fed has signaled rate cuts even as inflation data argues against them. But the Fed has run out of supply-shock excuses. The best way for the Fed to calm affordability concerns is to follow a monetary policy rule. @JaiKedia via @marketwatch marketwatch.com/story/warsh-fa…

There is a great deal worth supporting in Kevin Warsh’s Fed reform agenda. But his focus on AI productivity as a basis for rate cuts is a distraction. Read my latest @MarketWatch op-ed: marketwatch.com/story/kevin-wa…

What Spirit Airlines’ End Signals for Financial Services @EconWithNick cato.org/blog/what-spir…

One of the most egregious pieces of the Bank Secrecy Act is how Congress has defined "financial institution" to include an ever-growing list of pawn shops, car dealerships, and even the postal service. Take this May the Fourth to stop the empire and reclaim your freedom.

Soft demand for govt bonds at this week's Treasury auctions raised yields while the Fed stayed put. Once again, this shows that the Fed does not "control" market interest rates. Read @norbertjmichel and my new @CatoCMFA article: cato.org/blog/treasury-…

Updated version of older research, from the Fed, on tariffs and prices. It confirms earlier work and finds that the "tariffs implemented through November of 2025 have raised core goods PCE prices by 3.1 percent through February 2026, explaining the entirety of excess inflation in the core goods category relative to pre-pandemic inflation rates and contributing to a 0.8 percent boost in core PCE prices as a whole." federalreserve.gov/econres/notes/… via @FederalReserve

The public deserves to know how their money is being spent. That’s especially true given both the risks of CBDCs and the fact that the countries that are pushing the hardest for CBDCs are authoritarian. @EconWithNick cato.org/blog/ecb-denie…

Here I wonder why, exactly, does the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's new plan need to incorporate practices that should be normal for any agency, such as following the law and making sure policies don't do more harm than good? cato.org/blog/what-we-c…

Regulatory compliance costs smaller community banks roughly double what it costs the largest institutions—the smallest banks spend 11–15.5% of payroll and 16.5–22% of data processing budgets on compliance, compared with 6–10% and 10–14% for their largest peers.

It's unfortunate how politics can be blinding. @bankpolicy has put out great research on how the financial surveillance system does not work. Yet, rather than fight to reform the system, they want to expand it to hurt their competition.

Price controls on finance charges harm consumers and lower affordability. The best policy is to remove regulatory barriers that suppress competition. With more freedom, the sector could deliver services at lower costs. @NorbertJMichel & @SolveigSinglet cato.org/handbook-affor…

Kevin Warsh’s nomination hearing put affordability on center stage. There were encouraging signs but also some important policy prescriptions left undiscussed. Read my latest @CatoCMFA article: cato.org/blog/kevin-war…

The Supreme Court heard a major case today on whether the FCC can impose $100M+ in penalties without a jury trial. Cato’s amicus brief argued this violates the Seventh Amendment—agencies shouldn't be judge, jury, and enforcer of their own claims. Read more: ow.ly/vtuF50YNEIr

The real problems facing the housing market may not be what you think...See what @norbertjmichel & Jerome Famularo truly think affects housing in the end of their blog series, "Questioning the Housing Crisis". cato.org/blog/questioni…

"Accountability is a fundamental piece of any functioning democracy."

In a quick follow up, @berniemoreno explicitly asks about a US CBDC. Kevin Warsh says the Federal Reserve doesn’t have the authority and launching a CBDC would be a bad policy choice.

Norbert and I assess the recent executive order intended to make mortgages more accessible. The upshot? Federal housing policy is a mass of contradictions, and legislators have work to do. cato.org/blog/making-se…

"If you don’t like financial surveillance...Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent says you should get out of the country. Specifically, he said you should go live under a dictator." - @EconWithNick cato.org/blog/market-st…

A federal appeals court struck down the 150-year-old ban on home distilling, ruling Congress can't use the tax power as a tool of prohibition. This is a win for hobbyists—and for the principle that federal power has constitutional limits. Learn more: ow.ly/mO3r50YK8bS