The Wall Street Journal – Greek Banks Reopen Their Doors Greek bank branches reopened their doors Monday after being closed for three weeks to prevent a banking system collapse, but almost all the restrictions on financial transactions remained in place, showing how far Greece remains from economic normality as its turbulent summer continues…Most capital controls,… Continue reading Greece
<Click on chart for larger image> MoneyBeat (WSJ Blog) – Gold Bugs Getting Exterminated as Prices Hit Five-Year Low Gold bugs are getting exterminated. The price of gold has tumbled to a five-year low as investors brace for higher interest rates in the U.S., and the declines in gold are dragging down shares of mining… Continue reading Betting On Gold
<Click on chart for larger image> <Click on chart for larger image> <Click on chart for larger image> <Click on chart for larger image> The Wall Street Journal – Persistent Dollar Strength Would Be Big Hit to U.S. Growth: NY Fed Study The dollar’s strength in recent months has been broadly recognized as a force… Continue reading An Earnings Update
The Wall Street Journal – Cheap Oil Should Fuel Economy at Last Lower oil prices have proven to be more of a bane than a boon for the U.S. economy. But that is about to change. When the price of crude started dropping sharply last fall, most economists reckoned it would be a good thing.… Continue reading Cheap Oil
The Financial Times – Companies can invest and conduct buybacks A fashionable view among macroeconomists today is that investment by publicly quoted companies is being curtailed by a growing appetite from shareholders for dividends and buybacks. This view was boosted last month by the first Annual Business and Finance Outlook from the OECD. The report… Continue reading Buybacks vs. Reinvestment
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Real Time Economics (WSJ Blog) – WSJ Survey: Most Economists Expect Fed Will Raise Rates in September Most private forecasters polled continue to expect the Federal Reserve to start raising short-term interest rates in September, though a growing number think the central bank will wait until December. About 82% of economists surveyed over the past… Continue reading Timing The Rate Hike
<Click on chart for larger image> The Financial Times – China’s biggest state banks recruited into stock market rescue China’s biggest state-owned banks have lent a combined Rmb1.3tn ($209bn) to the country’s margin finance agency in recent weeks to staunch a freefall in the stock market, casting doubt on whether the recent equities rebound is… Continue reading China
The Financial Times – Greece: Donald Tusk warns of extremist political contagion The bitter stand-off over Greece has given new energy to radical political groups on the left and right, creating a pre-revolutionary atmosphere that Europe has not seen since 1968, the EU leader who brokered Monday’s bailout deal has warned. Donald Tusk, the former… Continue reading Greece Contagion
The Economist – The Big Mac index: A few dollars less Our burger benchmark finds that the greenback is too dear IN NOVEMBER the McDonald’s restaurant in Pushkin Square in Moscow reopened following a three-month closure ordered by local health inspectors. The penalty was widely seen as retaliation for Western sanctions against Russia. The restaurant… Continue reading The Big Mac Index
The Economist – The future of the City: A chance of showers Financiers in London are always predicting their industry’s demise. This time, they may be on to something UPON joining a panel mulling new regulations for London’s financial industry in 2010, Martin Taylor was confronted with “an operatic chorus” of bankers threatening to move… Continue reading The End of “The City”
The Economist – Buttonwood: Losing a tailwind The supply of equities may soon stop shrinking WHEN supply falls and demand is strong, prices tend to go up. So it has been in America’s stockmarkets. Short-term interest rates at record lows and minuscule yields on government bonds have boosted investors’ demand for equities. And thanks to… Continue reading Stock Buybacks