The Wall Street Journal – Wall Street Struggles to Cash In on Yuan’s Swoon High cost of borrowing in China, country’s effort to punish short sellers are cited Across Wall Street, many see further declines in the Chinese yuan as a nearly sure thing. But making money on them is proving anything but. Investors and analysts… Continue reading Shorting The Yuan
<Click on graphic for larger image> The Wall Street Journal – Investors Taper Bullish Bets, as Trump Takes Office Investors are turning more cautious as President Donald Trump takes office, a shift from the early days after his victory when stocks surged on the hopes that his policies would accelerate growth. The S&P 500 is… Continue reading Equity Sentiment
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<Click on chart for larger image> Bloomberg – Yellen Backs Gradual Rate Rises as Fed Not Behind the Curve Fed chair says fiscal policy one uncertainty clouding outlook Yellen sees risk in allowing the economy to run too hot Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen backed a strategy for gradually raising interest rates, arguing that the central… Continue reading Is The Reflation Trade Moving From Real Growth To Inflation?
The New York Times – Davos Elites See an ‘Abyss’: The Populist Surge Upending the Status Quo The religion of the global elite — free trade and open markets — is under attack, and there has been a lot of hand-wringing over what Christine Lagarde of the International Monetary Fund has declared a “middle-class crisis.” But… Continue reading Davos Struggling With Populism
<Click on graphic for larger image> The Wall Street Journal – U.S. Oil Producers Ramp Up Spending Companies are optimistic that higher crude prices are here to stay U.S. oil producers, optimistic that higher crude prices are here to stay, have issued 2017 budgets that call for dramatically greater spending to tap new wells. Preliminary capital-spending… Continue reading Is Too Much Oil Being Produced?
<Click on graphic for larger image> The Wall Street Journal – Obama’s Stock Market Legacy Is Hard to Beat U.S. stocks delivered far better returns under Mr. Obama than almost any previous president, and the performance was well ahead of the rest of the world After eight years in office, Barack Obama has a market record… Continue reading Obama And The Stock Market
<Click on graphic for larger image> The Wall Street Journal – New Wall Street Conflict: Analysts Say ‘Buy’ to Win Special Access for Their Clients In 2003, a $1.4 billion settlement between Wall Street securities firms and regulators sought to eradicate conflicts of interest that led analysts to issue overly positive research on companies, a… Continue reading Buying Analysts’ Recommendations
<Click on graphic for larger image> The Wall Street Journal – Bitcoin Trading Faces Greater Scrutiny in China Regulators say two bitcoin exchanges in Beijing improperly engaged in margin financing Chinese banking regulators said two bitcoin exchanges in Beijing improperly engaged in margin financing and failed to impose controls to prevent money laundering, a development that… Continue reading Bitcoin
<Click on graphic for larger image> Bloomberg.com – U.K. Retail-Sales Slump Hints at Cracks in Brexit Boom Sales drop 1.9% from November, far more than forecast Accelerating inflation may damp consumer spending this year U.K. Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond told a Davos gathering on Friday that an inflation pickup will put a damper on… Continue reading UK Retail Sales
<Click on graphic for larger image> OfDollarsAndData (Blog) – How Hedge Funds Get Rich (Hint: It’s Not Their Returns) I used to think that those that ran hedge funds got rich because of their incredible returns. Then I heard about the 2 and 20 fee structure that most hedge funds charged. The typical hedge fund… Continue reading The True Cost Of Hedge Funds
<Click on graphic for larger image> Bloomberg.com – Floor Caving In on Europe Real Estate Stocks Bashed by Rates European property stocks, already the worst performers this year, are flirting with a key technical level that, if breached, could signal more declines. Battered by rising bond yields and Brexit uncertainty, the Stoxx 600 Real Estate Index… Continue reading European Real Estate