<Click on graphic for larger image> The Economist – America’s economy: Blip or blight? Economists debate the meaning of a contraction in the first quarter Those who believe that the economy’s contraction is a blip also advance an even simpler argument. Whatever the reason, since the onset of the subprime crisis in 2007, the first… Continue reading First Quarter Weakness In The U.S.
Bloomberg.com – Gross Says Bond Turmoil Scary as Hell Even Without Bear Market Treasury prices are falling enough to spook even 44-year veteran Bill Gross. The rout has sent U.S. government securities maturing in 10 years and longer down 7.4 percent since the end of March, heading for the biggest quarterly loss since 2010, based… Continue reading Bill Gross Chimes In On Bond Rout
Comment Last month we said: In the end we don’t expect the Fed to move until a hike is priced in by the markets. In other words, the fed funds futures curve must align more closely with the Fed dots. This might be why we hear more and more talk about the Fed potentially hiking… Continue reading Hiking By Fewer Than 25 Basis Points
<Click on chart for larger image> The Wall Street Journal – Gregory Ip: Bond-Market Volatility Reflects Reality, Not Regulation These trends point to a structural decision on the part of banks to reduce the risk they take on during the normal course of business. Tougher regulations are of course part of the landscape since 2008,… Continue reading Bond Market Volatility & Duration
<Click on graphic for larger image> The Economist – Buttonwood: Signs of a slowdown A weaker yen poses problems elsewhere Where Abenomics has clearly made a difference is in the value of the yen. At the end of 2012 it was trading at ¥87 to the dollar; this week, it fell below ¥125, a decline… Continue reading The Yen
<Click on chart for larger image> Bloomberg – CFA Exam Lures Record Crowd of Candidates Seeking Career Boost A record number of people are set to take the Chartered Financial Analyst exam this weekend after applications poured in from 174 countries, led by those in Asia. A total of 159,889 candidates registered to sit for… Continue reading Are CFA’s A Contrarian Sell Signal?
Bloomberg – Apple Is the New Pimco, and Tim Cook Is the New King of Bonds Corporate treasurers looking to invest record amounts of cash have increasingly turned to debt markets in recent years as yields evaporated on safer investments such as U.S. Treasuries. No industry has amassed bigger piles of cash than tech. Apple,… Continue reading The New Bond King
None Today
Comment Jim Bianco was on CNBC yesterday with Jeff Gundlach and Rick Santelli discussing interest rates. To view the interview, click on the image above. To view any of our recent interviews, click here. CNBC – Gundlach: Fed won’t raise rates this year Long-term bonds would benefit from Federal Reserve tightening as stocks continue to… Continue reading Jim Talks Bonds With Jeff Gundlach & Rick Santelli
<Click on chart for larger image> MarketWatch – Oil drops nearly 3% as OPEC expected to stand pat on output Oil prices dropped nearly 3% on Wednesday as traders fret that the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, meeting this week, will leave its production targets unchanged in the face of ample crude supplies from… Continue reading Crude Production Remains Strong
<Click on chart for larger image> The Wall Street Journal – Fund Managers Cut Oil Bets Ahead of OPEC Meeting Money managers have been cutting back their bets on oil in the run up to the crucial meeting of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries in Vienna this week. The number of bets taken… Continue reading Speculating On Crude Oil
MarketWatch – Here’s why the M&A wave is going to sink stocks There should be little doubt that the current M&A wave will end badly. “Each of the last six great merger waves on record” — going back more than 125 years — “ended with a precipitous decline in equity prices,” says Matthew Rhodes-Kropf, a… Continue reading Record M&A Offers Warning Sign For Stocks