Facebook – Mike Lee Behold my display of the 2013 Federal Register. It contains over 80,000 pages of new rules, regulations, and notices all written and passed by unelected bureaucrats. The small stack of papers on top of the display are the laws passed by elected members of Congress and signed into law by the… Continue reading Government Gridlock & The Markets
The Wall Street Journal – U.K.’s Theresa May Calls Early Election, Seeking Brexit Leverage Victory in election, scheduled for June 8, could give Mrs. May more leeway in coming negotiations with the EU British Prime Minister Theresa May on Tuesday said she would call an early general election on June 8 in a move that… Continue reading Early Elections In The UK
The Wall Street Journal – Anti-Speculation Measures in China Cool Markets Shanghai Composite Index down again Tuesday after combined 1.6% drop on Friday and Monday As a number of Asian stock markets rose Tuesday, investors continued to fret about China’s efforts to curb speculative fervor. While the country’s economy appears solid, highlighted by Monday’s report… Continue reading China’s Anti-Speculation Measures
The Financial Times – US inflation expectations hit lowest levels for 2017 Investors react to Friday’s disappointing data and doubts over timeframe for stimulus Measures of market expectations for US inflation fell to their lowest levels of the year on Monday as declining oil prices and doubts over the administration’s timeline for stimulative economic policies… Continue reading Slumping Inflation Expectations
The Financial Times – Quasi-sovereigns: bittersweet bonds As spreads tighten, the trading in national champions’ debt makes little sense Anyone whose heart beats faster at the returns possible in emerging market corporate bonds, but whose courage falters at the thought of lending money to Indian banks and Russian oil companies, will like quasi-sovereign bonds. These… Continue reading Surging Emerging Markets
Bloomberg.com – Narayana Kocherlakota: Don’t Appoint Clones to the Fed Donald Trump has reportedly zeroed in on a candidate to be the top financial regulator at the Federal Reserve. Unfortunately, his choice lacks one of the fundamental requirements for the job: a background and perspective different from that of other Fed governors. I’m not personally acquainted… Continue reading Quarles To The Fed
ETF.com – How An ETF Gets Too Big For Its Index Can an exchange-traded fund get too big for its index? That’s the question investors in one popular gold miner ETF are grappling with after rapid asset growth pushed it to significantly deviate from its underlying index. The ETF in question is the VanEck Junior… Continue reading Are Gold ETFs Too Big For The Gold Market?
The Financial Times – John Authers: Active fund managers can add value but price is still too high Clever handling of big market moments can help outpace passive investment What exactly are the arguments for active management? The debate is back in full force after the Standard & Poor’s SPIVA service showed last week that… Continue reading Active Management
Comment Our handout will be available on Wednesday.
The Financial Times – US earnings season sees play between hard and soft economic data Signs are promising despite divergence in consumer confidence versus unemployment A handful of big banks led by JPMorgan this week kicked off one of the more eagerly anticipated earning seasons in recent memory, with investors desperate for evidence that a… Continue reading Earnings Season Begins
Forbes – Jon Hartley: How European Regulators Are Hindering The Fed’s Ability To Raise Interest Rates In particular, the effective fed funds rate has been incredibly volatile at quarter-end since the implementation of the Fed’s overnight reverse repo facility which is now used to raise interest rates (as the Fed’s balance sheet has increased the supply… Continue reading The Mechanics Of The Fed Funds Rate