<Click on chart for larger image> Reuters – U.S. inflation tame as economy gains momentum U.S. consumer prices were unchanged in July on falling gasoline costs, but solid gains in industrial output and home building suggested a pickup in economic activity that could allow the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates this year. Tuesday’s… Continue reading Inflation Components
Business Insider – The too-big-to-fail problem is getting even bigger The too big to fail problem on Wall Street may now be even bigger. The Dodd-Frank Act was implemented in the aftermath of the financial crisis to make sure that a bank failure didn’t risk bringing down the entire system. According to Craig Donohue, the executive chairman of… Continue reading Too Big To Fail
<Click on graphic for larger image> MoneyBeat (WSJ Blog) – Is Brexit Creating Uncertainty? Markets and Surveys Can’t Agree While markets seem to be brushing off concerns about Brexit, surveys show businesses and consumers are increasingly gloomy. They can’t both be right. Researchers at Scotland-based Aberdeen Asset Management PLC regularly put together some of these… Continue reading Brexit Uncertainty: The Markets vs. Surveys
<Click on chart for larger image> <Click on chart for larger image> CNBC – The stock market just stepped into the ‘danger’ zone Professional investors are getting really confident that the stock market will keep moving higher — maybe a little too confident. A popular gauge of investor sentiment, in fact, is flashing a signal… Continue reading Investor Sentiment
<Click on chart for larger image> CNBC – Sovereign debt is getting riskier, experts warn Several signs point to increased risks around government-issued debt, as recent research reveals credit agencies issued three times more downgrades than upgrades to ratings. There were 61 downgrades to sovereign risk by credit agencies compared to 19 upgrades in the… Continue reading Sovereign Debt Ratings
Bloomberg.com – Steve Eisman’s Next Big Short Is Hedge Fund Fees Steve Eisman made his name and fortune by foreseeing the collapse of subprime mortgage securities. Now he’s betting against a different kind of Wall Street money machine. He thinks hedge fund fees are going to tumble. Eisman works at Neuberger Berman, a money management… Continue reading Rethinking Hedge Fund Fees
CNBC – Mohamed El-Erian: Negative rates—a mistake to start—cause ‘collateral damage’ The negative interest rate experiment undertaken mostly notably by the European Central Bank and the Bank of Japan has failed, Allianz Chief Economic Adviser Mohamed El-Erian told CNBC on Wednesday. “I think they shouldn’t have gone there but they did. I think [policymakers] are… Continue reading Mohamed El-Erian Made The Media Rounds Yesterday
<Click on graphic for larger image> AQA – Peter Forbes: Fed Notes Looser Financial Conditions The July FOMC minutes put the spotlight on global financial conditions as the Fed attempts to keep September rate hike options open. Financial conditions are indeed looser since the Fed’s initial rate hike in December, partially a result of a… Continue reading July Minutes Highlight Looser Financial Conditions
Bloomberg Business – UBS: Don’t be Fooled by Emerging Markets’ Winning Streak Investors pouring money into emerging markets are turning a blind eye to lackluster economic growth. The ‘great migration’ into emerging-markets assets should be seen for what it is — a straightforward yield grab, not a vote of confidence in the developing world’s growth story.… Continue reading Emerging Markets
Bloomberg – The Rise of the Buy Side Financial rewards for trading are down. Incentives for making markets are gone. And the business of bond trading has been turned on its head. The bond dealers and investment banks that make up the sell side were once the lords of fixed-income markets. They would have snapped up… Continue reading Sell Side vs. Buy Side
The Financial Times – Central bankers are threatening the engine of the economy Are near-zero interest rates and a global store of about $13tn worth of negative-yielding bonds actually good for the real economy? Recent data suggests they may not be. Productivity growth, perhaps the best indicator of an economy’s vitality, is abysmal in most… Continue reading The Failed Central Bank Experiment
<Click on cartoon for larger image> #Fed rate hike chatter. pic.twitter.com/5NlfFr9Jfb — Pedro da Costa (@pdacosta) August 16, 2016