<Click on graphic for larger image> The Financial Times – Should we get rid of the €500 note? Two leading economists go head to head to tackle the argument Yes, writes Kenneth Rogoff The dirty little secret of advanced-country central banks is that the vast bulk of all currency is held in very large denomination… Continue reading Arguing The Merits Of The €500 Note
Replace “project” with “rate hike” and this describes the state of Fed policy. <Click on cartoon for larger image>
<Click on chart for larger image> The Wall Street Journal – WSJ Survey: Economists Divided Over Next Fed Rate Increase About 31% expect the Fed to raise rates in June, while another 31% see it waiting until September Economists are split about the timing of the Federal Reserve’s next interest-rate increase, reflecting the uncertainty of… Continue reading Economists On The Next Rate Hike
Reuters – Fed’s Yellen says won’t completely rule out negative rates Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen said on Thursday that while she “would not completely rule out the use of negative interest rates in some future very adverse scenario,” the tool would need a lot more study before it could be used in the United… Continue reading Yellen’s Evolving View On Negative Rates
<Click on chart for larger image> The Wall Street Journal – OPEC Sees Rival Oil Production Declining as Markets Rebalance The reduction in non-OPEC production is cushioning the effect of the cartel’s rising output Shrinking U.S. output and massive cuts to investment in new projects will reduce the global oil glut over the course of… Continue reading More On The Bullish Crude Oil Story
Forbes – First Quarter Not Looking Good For J.C. Penney And Other Major Retailers The New York Post published an article on Friday describing how J.C. Penney took emergency measures to protect its bottom line. It seems that April sales were weak, leading the retailer to slash operating expenses in order to salvage its first-quarter… Continue reading Which Retail Sales Numbers Are To Be Believed?
<Click on graphic for larger image> The Wall Street Journal – WSJ Survey: Recession Odds Remain Elevated Despite Calmer Financial Markets The U.S. has a 20% chance of falling into a recession in the next year, forecasters estimate Forecasters in the latest Wall Street Journal survey of business, academic and financial economists estimated, on average,… Continue reading Odds Of A Recession
<Click on graphic for larger image> The Economist – Buttonwood: A chronic problem Ideas for reducing the debt burden DEBT levels grew spectacularly in the rich world from 1982 to 2007. When the financial crisis broke, worries about the ability of borrowers to repay or refinance that debt caused the biggest economic downturn since the… Continue reading What Debt Deleveraging?
<Click on graphic for larger image> Bloomberg.com – World’s Biggest Currency Trade Stuck in Central-Bank-Induced Rut Euro is forecast to weaken versus dollar by year-end Realized volatility falls to its lowest level since 2014 The world’s most widely traded currency pair happens to be one of the most boring as well. The dollar has been… Continue reading Central Banks And The Dollar
<Click on graphic for larger image> The Financial Times – Equity outflows hit nearly $90bn in 2016 Investors pull $7.4bn from global funds during retreat into havens Outflows from equities have hit nearly $90bn this year, after investors pulled $7.4bn from global funds in the fifth consecutive week of redemptions as they retreated into haven… Continue reading Equity Outflows Continue
The Financial Times – Federal Reserve is too ‘white and male’, say Democrats Letter from 100 lawmakers criticises central bank system for lack of diversity More than a hundred Democratic party lawmakers have written to Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen complaining of a lack of diversity within the central bank system and a leadership that… Continue reading Political Correctness At The Fed
The Wall Street Journal – Hedge Fund Star: We Are ‘Under Assault’ Leon Cooperman of Omega Advisors sums up the mood at the annual SALT conference in Las Vegas Some of the most famous minds in investing convened here this week for an annual celebration of the hedge-fund industry. But, feeling the weight of years… Continue reading Now Hedge Funds Are Kicking Themselves In The Teeth