The Economist – Interest rates in America: Buckle up The first of three pieces on the Federal Reserve’s imminent interest-rate decision looks at whether America is ready for lift-off SINCE interest rates hit rock-bottom in 2009, the Federal Reserve has repeatedly made optimistic forecasts about when they would start rising, only to delay the big… Continue reading The Fed Hike
<Click on graphic for larger image> Bloomberg – Currency Traders’ Bad Year Gets Worse as Central Banks Surprise Kiwi surges after RBNZ fails to signal further rate cuts Euro is 3% stronger since ECB eased less than some expected December is turning into a cruel month for traders counting on cuts in interest rates to drive… Continue reading Tough Year Trading Currencies
Business Insider – Hedge funds are having trouble hiring, and it’s changing the Wall Street ecosystem Hedge funds are increasingly finding it difficult to hire good people. That’s according a big report on hedge fund hiring trends that Barclays sent out to clients last month. The 24-page report, prepared by the bank’s hedge fund strategic… Continue reading No One Wants To Work For Hedge Funds Anymore
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<Click on chart for larger image> The Wall Street Journal – Jon Hilsenrath: Fed Plans to Signal Gradual, Cautious Path on Rate Hikes After liftoff, central bank will look to strike balance between flexibility and articulating a plan For Federal Reserve officials, deciding to raise short-term interest rates will be the easy part of their… Continue reading Slow & Steady Rate Hikes
Time Magazine – Chancellor Of The Free World The year 2015 marked the start of Merkel’s 10th year as Chancellor of a united Germany and the de facto leader of the European Union, the most prosperous joint venture on the planet. By year’s end, she had steered the enterprise through not one but two existential… Continue reading Merkel Is TIME’s “Person Of The Year”, Contrarians Take Note
The Wall Street Journal – Charles Plosser: The Veneer of Consensus at the Fed When the Federal Open Market Committee voted Sept. 17 not to raise its target for the federal-funds interest rate (the interest rate banks borrow and lend reserves to each other), the tally was a lopsided 9-1. Yet I suspect that the… Continue reading The Problem With Showing A United Front At The Fed
<Click on chart for larger image> The Telegraph – Chinese devaluation is a bigger danger than Fed rate rises The world has had a year to brace for monetary lift-off by the US Federal Reserve. A near certain rate rise next week will come almost as a relief…The greater risk for the world over coming… Continue reading The Danger Of A Chinese Devaluation
<Click on graphic for larger image> Bloomberg.com – Billions of Barrels of Oil Vanish in a Puff of Accounting Smoke Across the American shale patch, companies are being forced to square their reported oil reserves with hard economic reality. After lobbying for rules that let them claim their vast underground potential at the start of… Continue reading Accounting For Crude Oil Inventory
<Click on chart for larger image> The Financial Times – Treasury bill yields climb as tighter policy looms The US government’s short-term borrowing costs have climbed to their highest level since the financial crisis as investors anticipate higher interest rates set by the Federal Reserve next week. Upward pressure on short-term market rates suggests from… Continue reading The Short End Of The Curve Is On The Rise
Bloomberg Business – JPMorgan: The Fed Could Trigger a ‘Massive Stop Loss Order’ in the S&P 500 if Liftoff Goes Awry Options expiry could amplify any selling pressure. Analysts at JPMorgan Chase say the Federal Reserve has 670 billion reasons to deliver a “dovish hike” if it elects next week to raise interest rates for… Continue reading Options Expiry & The Rate Hike
<Click on graphic for larger image> Real Time Economics (WSJ Blog) – Nearly Half of Renters Put Too Much Toward Rent The largest boom in new apartment construction in three decades is doing little to slow rent increases or ease affordability concerns for renters across the country, a new report finds. A record number of… Continue reading The Rental Market