Reuters.com – Fed’s Brainard: global troubles weighing on U.S., may delay rate hike It may be impossible for the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates until the rest of the world economy improves, Fed board member Lael Brainard said on Tuesday, in the most direct acknowledgement yet of how weak global markets could handcuff the… Continue reading Lael Brainard Speaks
<Click on chart for large image> Business Insider – US auto sales crush expectations US auto sales crushed expectations in May, with sales rising to a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 17.79 million units, according to Autodata. Economists expected sales would come in at a pace of 17.3 million. Throughout the day, we saw major… Continue reading Strong Auto Sales In May
The Wall Street Journal – Why Spain and Other Eurozone Countries Aren’t Feeling the Recovery After nearly a year of unemployment, Cesar Mahiques was lucky enough to land a job managing a factory in this ceramic-tile manufacturing town. The catch was 50% lower pay than in his last job. Half his income now goes to… Continue reading Spain
The Financial Times – EM most at risk from bond market ‘tantrums’ Any liquidity challenges in a sell-off will appear first in emerging markets The recent volatility in fixed income markets has once again highlighted a “global warming” in financial markets: the price response to new events and data has become much more extreme due… Continue reading Bond Market Tantrums
<Click on graphic for large image> MarketWatch.com – Caroline Baum: There’s no margin for error in today’s 2% economy The point is that neither rain nor snow nor the currency’s value should be enough to push the economy over the edge. Two percent growth — an average of 2.2%, to be exact, since the end… Continue reading Today’s 2% Economy
The Financial Times – US Congress pushed China into launching AIIB, says Bernanke Beijing was pushed into launching the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank by US lawmakers’ refusal to give China greater clout in existing multilateral institutions, Ben Bernanke has said. “The US Congress is largely at fault for all that’s happening,” the former chairman of… Continue reading Bernanke Speaks About China
The Wall Street Journal – IMF Economists’ Surprising Advice on Federal Debt: Don’t Worry About It We’ve come a long way from the days when the International Monetary Fund so often advised governments to cut their budget deficits that some joked that IMF stood for It’s Mostly Fiscal. A new working paper from three IMF… Continue reading The IMF Tells Governments Not To Worry About Federal Debt
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Bloomberg.com – Bond Dealers Enfeebled as Liquidity Woes Boost Derivatives Jim Bianco, president of Bianco Research LLC, doesn’t buy the notion that investors are turning to derivatives because the bond market is broken. While regulations have played a role in curtailing volume, the real reason so many investors have embraced derivatives is because everyone is… Continue reading Bond Market Volatility, Liquidity or Extreme Positions?
Business Insider – FORGET GDP: Here’s the new way Wall Street is measuring the US economy Move over GDP, GDI is the new and improved way everyone is measuring the economy. GDP, or gross domestic product, is the most widely cited measure for the economy’s overall health and trajectory. On Friday, we found out that… Continue reading Picking And Choosing The Economic Releases That Fit Your Narrative
Brookings.edu – Ben Bernanke: Monetary policy and inequality Early critics of the Fed’s policies warned that they would be ineffective; or, if effective, that they would generate high inflation and the collapse of the dollar. With these forecasts largely discredited, critics have turned to other arguments. In this post I’ll look at another critique, that… Continue reading Bernanke Says Inequality Is Not A Fed Problem
<Click on graphic for larger image> Ticker Sense – Buybacks April 2015: Strongest Month Ever There were $141 billion of buyback authorizations in April, which was the highest monthly total ever and a 121% increase over April 2014 ($64 bln). However,the record was largely a result of AAPL and GE both announcing $50 bln programs… Continue reading Buybacks and Stock Market Distortions