Bloomberg Business – ECB Ready to Expand QE If Needed on Inflation Risks, Praet Says The European Central Bank is ready to expand or extend its bond-buying program if needed as a slump in commodity prices and risks to global economic growth threaten its inflation goal, said Executive Board member Peter Praet. “Recent developments in… Continue reading ECB Ready To Expand QE
Bloomberg Business – China’s Yuan Shock Gives Carry-Trade Crowd Worst Year Since ’08 China just gave investors one more reason to shun the most popular trading strategy in the $5.3 trillion-a-day currency market. Carry trades, or borrowing one currency cheaply to invest in a higher-yielding asset elsewhere, were already suffering the biggest losses since 2008… Continue reading The Currency Market
The Financial Times – Pain for most indebted set to worsen Profligate US Treasury unlikely to suffer but many companies will At the moment, the Federal Reserve’s favourite message appears to be either “not yet” or “almost there”. The Fed’s almost zero interest rate policies evidently are to be with us at least a bit… Continue reading Company Debt
The Financial Times – World trade suffers biggest fall in 6 years World trade recorded its biggest contraction since the financial crisis in the first half of this year, according to figures that will fuel a debate over whether globalisation has peaked. The volume of global trade fell 0.5 per cent in the three months… Continue reading World Trade Falls
Panic in world markets: a photo gallery pic.twitter.com/vcRYfIijTh — Andrew Palmer (@palmerandrew) August 24, 2015
The Wall Street Journal – Jon Hilsenrath: The Fed’s Longer Run Rate Projections Look Increasingly Untenable Investors seem to have an endless fascination with the question of whether the Federal Reserve is going to raise short-term interest rates in September. The probability of a move has clearly gone down of late. Minutes of their last… Continue reading Timing The Rate Hike
<Click on chart for larger image> Bloomberg.com – China Cuts Interest Rates for Fifth Time in Bid to Stem Rout China cut interest rates for the fifth time since November and lowered the amount of cash banks must set aside, falling back on its major levers to stem the biggest stock market rout since 1996… Continue reading China Cuts Interest Rates … Again
Barron’s – Ben Levisohn: Dow Drops Nearly 600 Point But Capitulation It Ain’t …Still, that doesn’t mean investors should be jumping in to buy stocks hand over fist. I spoke with Brown Brothers Harriman’s Marc Chandler about the market action today, and he explained that as much as people would like to blame China for… Continue reading Was Monday A Capitulation For Stocks?
Click on chart for larger image> The Wall Street Journal – Bonds Market Saw Global Selloff Coming As global stock markets tumble and analysts fret over the health of key economies such as China and Brazil, bond investors are saying once again, we told you so. Corporate-bond markets have been showing signs of weakness this… Continue reading Credit As A Leading Indicator
<Click on chart for larger image> CNBC – The volatility surge could signal it’s time to buy On Monday, the CBOE Volatility Index, otherwise known as the VIX, closed at its highest level since October 2011. Earlier in the day, volatility surged to hit a high not seen in more than six years. According to… Continue reading The VIX Surges
The Wall Street Journal – Martin Feldstein: The Fed’s Stock-Price Correction The equity-market downturn is the inevitable result of the central bank’s policies. The unwinding will likely continue for months. The unfolding stock-market collapse—the Dow Jones Industrial Average plummeted more than 1,000 points on Monday morning, rebounding later to nearly 600 points down, following several… Continue reading Stocks And Central Bank Policy
<Click on chart for larger image> The Financial Times – Oil slides to 6-year low as commodities tumble Oil plummeted more than 6 per cent to levels last seen during the financial crisis and a broad index of commodity prices slid to the lowest point of this century as economic doubts gathered over China, the… Continue reading Crude Oil