<Click on graphic for larger image> The Economist – Emerging-market debt: The well runs dry Why borrowing in dollars is central to the business cycle in developing countries OIL PRICES have perked up a bit, but producers are still reeling from the slump in crude prices last year. The boss of Pemex, Mexico’s state-owned oil… Continue reading Emerging Market Debt
Comment It is not our intention to do daily political updates, but given the contentious nature of these nominations and primaries, we are left wondering how various events impact consensus thinking. Romney’s speech against Trump and the Republican debate yesterday were two such events. The chart below shows Trump’s odds of winning the nomination over… Continue reading Political Betting Update
<Click on graphic for larger image> The Economist – The euro-zone economy: The new mediocre The ECB will do something at its meeting next week, but to what effect? THE launch, a year ago, of the European Central Bank’s programme of quantitative easing (QE—creating money to buy bonds) sparked elation. Growth was picking up, consumers… Continue reading The Eurozone Economy
<Click on graphic for larger image> MarketWatch – The salary you need to afford a home in these 25 cities The average American needs to $51,000 a year to afford the median-priced home In a number of cities in America, you’ll need to earn well over the median income in the U.S. to afford an… Continue reading Another Housing Bubble?
<Click on graphic for larger image> Bloomberg.com – Gold Snaps Back to Bull Market as Prices Surge on Haven Demand Metal’s 2016 advance is biggest among commodity markets Open interest signals investors expect sustained rally Gold cruised to a bull market, heedless of rebounding stock markets, as traders expect central banks to curb yields on… Continue reading Gold’s Bull Market
<Click on graphic for larger image> The Economist – High-denomination banknotes: Cash talk Getting rid of big banknotes is not as easy as it sounds A SIGN on the door of a Wild Bean café in Zurich shows the nine different cards accepted for payment inside. Below the logos is a picture of a purple… Continue reading More On The End Of Cash
MarketWatch – Chuck Jaffe: Why the U.S. stock market now has scary parallels to 1929 Worst is yet to come for investors, strategist predicts Russell Napier is a stock market historian who sees bad things coming in the near future, and an old-style solution for investors looking to push through. Author of “Anatomy of the… Continue reading Scary Talk
The Economist – Buttonwood: Living off the people A history of investment shows how managers have prospered FOR as long as there have been organised economies, people have been employed to look after the wealth of others. More than 4,000 years ago landowners in Akkad, an early Mesopotamian civilisation, hired local managers to look after… Continue reading People Power
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<Click on chart for larger image> Bloomberg.com – Deutsche Bank Says Fed Should Move in March Based on the Data Manufacturing, spending, inflation are improving, Slok says Fed will hold rate unchanged in March, Bloomberg survey shows Deutsche Bank AG, one of the Wall Street firms that trade directly with the Federal Reserve, says U.S.… Continue reading Does The Data Dependent Fed Have Enough To Hike Rates This Month?
Reuters – Wall Street’s big short: President Donald J. Trump Add the juggernaut that is Donald J. Trump to the list of what-ifs that is worrying Wall Street. A growing realization that the unpredictable New York real estate developer is in a position to win the Republican nomination and then battle Hillary Clinton for the… Continue reading Stocks vs. Politics
<Click on graphic for larger image> MarketWatch.com – Stress in oil credit market is now at record levels Liquidity is deteriorating as energy issuers battered by low oil price A measure of stress in energy credit has hit a new milestone, Moody’s said Wednesday. The agency’s oil and gas Liquidity Stress Index (LSI) hit a… Continue reading Energy Credit Market