Comment Today at 9 AM CT (10 AM ET, 7 AM PT and 15:00 BST) Bianco Research, in conjunction with Arbor Research & Trading, will be hosting a webcast/teleconference moderated by Jim Bianco. Several events are coming that have the markets’ attention. How concerned should we be? Fed Policy: Will the Fed hike this summer?… Continue reading How Concerned Should We Be?
The Financial Times – How accurate are the Brexit polls? Days away from Britain’s historic EU referendum, opinion polls are dominating the debate, ramping up uncertainty about the eventual outcome. The problem is no one knows how much to trust such surveys…Even as the June 23 referendum approaches, the industry has still to resolve big… Continue reading Diving Into Potential Biases Of Brexit Polls
<Click on graphic for larger image> The Wall Street Journal – A 2% Yield on a 50-Year Gilt? Bonkers. Totally Bonkers Big numbers lost their power to shock after $1 trillion became the standard bailout package. Small numbers are rapidly losing their power to shock too, as government-bond yields sink to nothing, or less, in… Continue reading Low Yield Environment
<Click on chart for larger image> Bloomberg.com – Hedge Funds Trailing Stock Rally May Be S&P 500’s Next Big Buyer Didn’t think this year could get any worse for hedge fund managers? Guess again. As if posting their worst start to a year and suffering the biggest crush of outflows since the financial crisis wasn’t… Continue reading Hedge Funds’ Underperformance Continues
<Click on graphic for larger image> The Wall Street Journal – Oil and China: ‘Teapots’ Mean Real Demand Not So Stout China’s rising crude oil imports may be nothing more than a tempest in a teapot. China’s so-called teapot refineries—smaller, private outfits that operate outside the state-owned petroleum industrial complex—have taken center stage of late.… Continue reading Crude Supply/Demand
<Click on graphic for larger image> The Wall Street Journal – Why the ECB’s Impact On Corporate Bonds Has Been Smaller Than It Seems Yields on bonds issued by companies in the eurozone have been falling ahead of the European Central Bank entering the market from Wednesday, but the bond-buying program has so far made… Continue reading Euro Corporate Issuance
<Click on graphic for larger image> The Wall Street Journal – Rise of Populist Right Doesn’t Signal Demise of Globalization Opposition to immigration, not economic anxiety, fuels populist movements across rich countries Right-of-center populists in continental Europe, advocates for a British exit from the European Union, and Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee for U.S.… Continue reading Anti-Establishment Populism
<Click on graphic for larger image> MoneyBeat (WSJ Blog) – BlackRock: Not All Bond Funds Are Alike BlackRock wants to debunk claims that periods of system-wide stress could lead to a mass investor exodus from bond funds. Regulators and researchers–including economists at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and the International Monetary Fund–have suggested… Continue reading Blackrock Argues Against Liquidity Issues In Bond Funds
MoneyBeat (WSJ Blog) – How to Gauge Brexit Risk? Here Are Three Lessons from the Past Past events could hold some clues about what will happen to investors if the United Kingdom votes to leave the European Union this month. Researchers at Axioma, a firm that works on risk management for financial institutions, point to… Continue reading Using History To Gauge The Markets’ Response To Brexit Vote
The Wall Street Journal – A Bearish George Soros Is Trading Again Billionaire investor sees opportunities to profit from various economic and political issues afflicting the world After a long hiatus, George Soros has returned to trading, lured by opportunities to profit from what he sees as coming economic troubles. Worried about the outlook for… Continue reading He’s Back!
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Conference Call Presentation/Charts of the Week Audio [audio:https://www.biancoresearch.com/bianco/SubscriberArea/060916.mp3|titles=Conference Call ] Topics Covered This Week Include: Topics No Hike Until (At Least) December Forward Curve Still Flat What Tracks Fed Probability? Financial Conditions! What Economists Think Detailing The June Hike Saga The Market’s Track Record Since 1994 Since The Fed Started Targeting The Funds Rate The… Continue reading Conference Call Presentation/Charts of the Week