The Financial Times – Japan’s BTMU threatens to quit JGB primary dealers’ club Japan’s biggest financial group is threatening to quit the 22-member club of primary dealers of the nation’s sovereign debt in protest against the central bank’s move into negative interest rates. The Bank of Japan’s decision in January to join its European peer… Continue reading Primary Dealer In Japan Threatens To Quit
<Click on chart for larger image> Reuters.com – U.S. household net worth rose to $88.1 trillion in first quarter: Fed The net worth of U.S. households rose in the first quarter as a boost in real estate values offset a fall in stock market prices, a report by the Federal Reserve showed on Thursday.Families’ net… Continue reading Household Net Worth Increases
<Click on chart for larger image> Bloomberg Business – BlackRock Calls For a Muni Market Strike in Budgetless Illinois Lowest-rated U.S. state plans to borrow $550 million next week … “We as municipal market participants should really be penalizing in some way, by almost not giving them any access to the market,” Peter Hayes, who… Continue reading Illinois Munis Are Downgraded
<Click on chart for larger image> The Telegraph – Brexit might trigger run on Britain’s record financial debts, S&P warns Britain is the world’s most vulnerable state on a key measure of short-term debt and credit markets might suddenly seize up if voters opt for Brexit, Standard & Poor’s has warned. The US credit rating… Continue reading More On Brexit
Bloomberg Business – Gross Says Negative Rates Are Like ‘Supernova’ That Will Explode Global yields are ‘lowest in 500 years of recorded history’ Gross’s Janus Unconstrained Fund has returned 3.2% in 2016 Bill Gross, the manager of the $1.4 billion Janus Global Unconstrained Bond Fund, warned central bank policies that pushed trillions of dollars into… Continue reading Bill Gross Speaks
The Wall Street Journal – WSJ Survey: Economists Sharply Lower Estimates of Job Growth in the Next Year Forecasters see U.S. adding 155,000 jobs a month in next 12 months, down from 180,000 in May poll The job gains of recent years, when the economy routinely added more than two million jobs annually, may be… Continue reading Economists Lower Their Job Growth Forecasts
Bloomberg Business – Timothy Duy: Five Questions for Janet Yellen Have the Fed Chair’s positions changed over the years 1. What’s the deal with labor market conditions? You advocated for the creation of the Federal Reserve’s Labor Market Conditions Index (LMCI) to serve as a broader measure of the labor market and as an alternative… Continue reading Questions For Yellen
CNBC – Carl Icahn: Soros has points with bearish bets; stocks falsely being propped up Carl Icahn told CNBC on Thursday that bearish bets by fellow billionaire investor George Soros have merit because the stock market has been artificially boosted by prolonged low interest rates. Some of the values in stocks, “you just have to… Continue reading More On George Soros
The Economist – Secret agents A new book argues that the finance industry needs reform Those charges add up, and make an enormous difference. If a 25-year-old saves for 40 years for a pension, paying fees of 1% a year, the accumulated charges will reduce his or her retirement pot by a quarter (based on… Continue reading Reform In The Financial Industry
The Economist – Slow-motion revolution The rise of low-cost managers like Vanguard should be celebrated IN THE past few years, industries including retailing, music and taxis have been spectacularly blown apart by low-cost innovators. Less celebrated is Vanguard, a fund-management group that also fits the disruptive mould. It offers diversified portfolios for retail investors at… Continue reading How Vanguard Has Changed Money Management
The Wall Street Journal – ECB Should Strengthen Commitment Not to Hike Rates, Says OECD OECD says the central bank shouldn’t raise key interest rates for two years even if it beats its inflation target The European Central Bank should consider making a clear commitment not to raise its key interest rates over the coming… Continue reading Why The ECB Should Not Hike