<Click on graphic for larger image> MoneyBeat (WSJ Blog) – Want to Know Where Stocks Are Headed? Look to Trump’s Approval Ratings For investors, much depends on whether the electorate likes President Donald Trump. Major U.S. market benchmarks, including the S&P 500, 10-year Treasury note yield, trade-weighted dollar and crude oil all have moved in… Continue reading Trump’s Approval Rating
The Financial Times – Chinese billionaire abducted from Hong Kong Xiao Jianhua, a financier with links to the Xi family, taken to mainland China A Chinese billionaire with connections to top Beijing leaders has been abducted from the Four Seasons Hotel in Hong Kong by Chinese public security agents and taken to mainland China, according to… Continue reading Another Chinese Billionaire Goes “Missing”
<Click on graphic for larger image> The Wall Street Journal – ‘Sell in May and Go Away’: Mostly a Myth, but Not Entirely The stock market’s famous six-months-on, six-months-off pattern—known alternately as “Sell In May and Go Away” or the Halloween Indicator—is more than a superstition. But not by much. To be precise, according to… Continue reading Sell In May And Go Away, With A Twist
<Click on graphic for larger image> The Wall Street Journal – Mexico Teeters Between Its Recent U.S. Friendship and 170 Years of Hostility Mexico had a closed and struggling economy in the mid-1980s, with little American investment, and most Mexicans viewed the U.S. as their historic enemy…Much has changed in the ensuing 30 years. Under… Continue reading Mexico’s Consumer Confidence Takes A Dive
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Bloomberg Business – Payrolls in U.S. Increase 227,000 While Growth in Wages Weakens U.S. employers added the most workers in four months while wage growth slowed more than projected, suggesting some slack remains in the labor market. January’s 227,000 increase in payrolls followed a 157,000 rise in December, a Labor Department report showed Friday in Washington.… Continue reading Employment In Pictures
<Click on graphic for larger image> Bloomberg.com – Bank of Japan Disappoints With Bond Purchases, Roiling Markets Traders wait to see if BOJ will offer fixed-rate purchases BOJ board members argue for more flexibility in operations Investor confidence in the Bank of Japan’s commitment to hold down bond yields was shaken Friday as the central… Continue reading Bank of Japan Willing to Let Steepening Continue
Bloomberg.com – Mohamed A. El-Erian: Fed’s Influence Wanes as Markets Take a Cue From Policies This is a new situation for institutions that, as most market participants would readily acknowledge, have been the main determinant of asset prices in recent times. Actual and anticipated Fed policies have played a critical role in repressing financial volatility and… Continue reading Does The Fed Matter Anymore?
Barron’s – New Dollar Bashing Won’t Affect Fed Rate Hike Plan … Germany has little control over the euro given U.S. interest rates determine the dollar’s value. And of course, Germany uses the euro, which may be too low for its strong, productive economy but too high for the feeble economies on the periphery of the… Continue reading More On The Fed
<Click on graphic for larger image> The Financial Times – Wall St valuation souffle continues to rise Equities have yet to bake in the Trump uncertainty discount Yet there is little sign of one. Take the S&P 500. It is currently trading at more than 21 times its trailing earnings, compared to 19 times for global… Continue reading Are Stocks Overvalued?
<Click on graphic for larger image> Bloomberg.com – China Tightens Monetary Policy by Raising Money Market Rates Move to tighten rates on repo agreements follows MLF rate rise PBOC is switching gears after past stimulus steadied economy China’s central bank tightened monetary policy by raising the interest rates it charges in open-market operations and on funds… Continue reading China Tightens
Bloomberg Business – Yellen Eyes Commercial Real-Estate Froth as Fed Weighs ’17 Risks Fed Chair Janet Yellen cited commercial real estate prices as “high” in a speech at Stanford University on Jan. 19. That message has been echoed by Governor Jerome Powell, who warned “low rates may lead to a reach for yield,” as well as… Continue reading Froth In Real Estate?