The longer the signals in capital markets go haywire under the influence of “monetary stimulus,” the bigger is the cumulative economic cost. That is one big reason why this fourth Fed stimulus — in the present already-longest (but lowest-growth) of super-long business cycles — is so dangerous.

True, there is nothing new about the Fed imparting stimulus well into a business cycle expansion with the intention of combating a threat of recession. Think of 1927, 1962, 1967, 1985, 1988, 1995, and 1998.

It was announced earlier this month that Piper Jaffray is buying boutique investment banker Sandler O’Neill & Partners L.P. for $485 million. The Wall Street Journal reported,

Sandler O’Neill is a leader in advising small and midsize banks on deals, having been involved in 355 bank mergers since 2010, according to Dealogic. It is an area that Piper Jaffray has wanted to enter for some time.

Even before Trump officially declared his presidential aspirations, trade was the cornerstone of Trumponomics, and he lambasted global partners who ostensibly had taken the American people to the cleaners through the means of unfair trading practices, currency manipulations, and efforts to undermine US industry.