<Click on graphic for larger image> The Economist – Free exchange: Rule it out Setting interest rates according to a fixed formula is a bad idea SHOULD experts in the public service follow rules, or rely on their own judgment? The answer is crucial for many areas of public policy, including criminal sentencing, immigration and… Continue reading Should The Fed Use Rules?
<Click on graphic for larger image> Real Time Economics (WSJ Blog) – Why Risky Borrowers Still Aren’t Getting Mortgages Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, the Federal Housing Finance Agency and the Obama administration over the past year have tried mightily to expand mortgage access for riskier borrowers. But despite those efforts, there’s little evidence so far… Continue reading Risky Mortgage Lending
<Click on graphic for larger image> The Wall Street Journal – Romain Hatchuel: The World-Wide Undermining of Free Markets China’s interference in its stock markets reflects a global trend of states trying to govern economic activity. Unprecedented monetary easing, high public spending, repressive regulation and automatic debt forgiveness, while arguably useful in the midst of… Continue reading When Governments/Central Banks Rig Markets
<Click on graphic for larger image> The Financial Times – Corporate debt frenzy leaves investment-grade market cold Companies have rushed to issue debt this year and take advantage of still low interest rates. And record levels of debt sales have been boosted by frenzied mergers and acquisitions activity and the continuing boom in share buybacks… Continue reading Corporate Debt Issuance
Comment This year was our fifth year attending Camp Kotok (see the video). Over the next few days we will post stories and comments about some of the opinions we heard. thestreet.com – Economists, Money Managers Gather in Maine for Camp Kotok Each year, prominent economists, money managers and others in the financial community meet… Continue reading Camp Kotok
The Financial Times – Nouriel Roubini: Rating agencies still matter — and that is inexcusable Spotting risk is hard, but it is a mistake to let others do the work Spotting risk is difficult, and it is tempting to let others do the hard work. But rating agencies follow an ad hoc and slow-moving approach.… Continue reading Is The Continued Existence Of Rating Agencies Still A Problem?
Bloomberg.com – Monetize This: Bond Strategists Pressed to Earn Their Keep The grand gurus of bonds can kiss the sweet life goodbye. Fixed-income strategists, those big-thinkers of global bond markets, are under growing pressure to do something they’ve never really had to do before: bring in money. Across the globe, investment houses big and small… Continue reading The Life And Times Of Bond Strategists
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<Click on chart for larger image> The Wall Street Journal – Don’t Look Now, But Market Inflation Expectations Are Falling Market expectations for U.S. inflation appear to be sagging again. This could complicate the Federal Reserve’s deliberations about raising short-term interest rates as soon as September, though the central bank’s earlier reactions to similar movements… Continue reading Inflation Expectations
Fact Set – Earnings Insight Of the 436 companies that have reported earnings to date for Q2 2015, 73% have reported earnings above the mean estimate and 51% have reported sales above the mean estimate. At this point in time, the vast majority of S&P 500 companies (87%) have report earnings results for Q2 2015.… Continue reading An Earnings Update
<Click on chart for larger image> MoneyBeat (WSJ Blog) – Record-Less Streak The Longest in Two Years The longer the market has crept sideways, the firmer the iron ceiling on trading has become. Friday marked the 54th session the S&P 500 had gone without closing at a fresh record, its longest such streak since it… Continue reading Stocks Stuck In A Trading Range
Bloomberg.com – S&P 500 Flouts History in Break With Bonds That Often Ends Badly As far as credit markets are concerned, U.S. stock investors have lost touch with reality. That’s seen in the extra yield bond investors demand over Treasuries. The spread has expanded by 0.48 percentage point from a year ago, the most since… Continue reading Stocks vs. Bonds