The Wall Street Journal – Editorial: Bernanke’s Rebuttal He credits the Fed for lower unemployment but not for slow growth. It’s nice to know we’re being read, and Thursday’s editorial on “The Slow-Growth Fed” sure got a rise out of Ben Bernanke. The former Federal Reserve Chairman turned blogger turned Pimco adviser wrote to defend… Continue reading Piling On Bernanke
<Click on graphic for larger image> Bloomberg.com – The Shale Boom Has Already Gone Bust – At Least For Now Hall’s production estimate is based on weekly data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. The EIA’s numbers have been closely watched by the market for signs that a record pullback in the number of rigs… Continue reading Crude Oil Production
<Click on graphic for larger image> The Wall Street Journal – U.S. Auto Buyers Spend to Trade Up Buyers’ demand for more luxury in new vehicles shows up in rising prices paid In a season when the pace of auto sales typically weakens, that trading up offers fresh optimism ahead of traditionally brisk summer sales.… Continue reading All About Cars (And Why It Is Good To Be In The 1%)
MoneyBeat (WSJ Blog) – ISM’s April Manufacturing Index Undercuts ‘Winter’ Theory If you’re in the camp that says the first quarter’s standstill economy had more do to with the snow and less to do with the fundamentals, don’t look at this morning’s PMI report. The Institute for Supply Management released its April manufacturing PMI on… Continue reading The Weather Is No Longer A Viable Excuse
Factset – Earnings Insight for May 1, 2015 With 72% of the companies in the S&P 500 reporting actual results for Q1 to date, fewer companies are reporting actual EPS above estimates (71%) and actual sales above estimates (46%) than average. However, the companies that are reporting upside earnings surprises are surpassing estimates by much… Continue reading An Earnings Update
Guggenheim: Scott Minerd: Market Perspectives Where Is the Prudence in Macroprudential Policy? Well-intended regulations that limit access to capital could be another crisis in the making. While you may not be familiar with the concept of macroprudential policy, it is one of the most important factors in determining the long-term growth potential of the U.S.… Continue reading Macroprudential Policy
<Click on graphic for larger image> Bloomberg.com – Somebody Got a Good Raise. Probably Not You. The long, slow U.S. economic recovery might finally be translating into better compensation for workers. People who make stuff or pull it out of the ground, though, aren’t seeing quite the same kinds of raises as those in sales,… Continue reading Wage Growth
The New York Times – Gretchen Morganson: Pension Funds Can Only Guess at Private Equity’s Cost Partnership agreements outlining private equity firms’ practices are as closely guarded as the recipe for Coca-Cola. Indeed, when it comes to secrecy, few industries do it better than private equity. To outsiders, the lucrative business of borrowing money, buying… Continue reading Private Equity’s Secret Sauce
The Financial Times – Federal Reserve’s hesitation brings respite for emerging markets US central bank’s decision on interest rate rise may change the shape of the global recovery Like a pilot spotting a smoking engine at take-off, the US Federal Reserve is having second thoughts about when to raise interest rates. Disappointing growth in the… Continue reading The Global Effect Of FOMC Decisions
None Today
<Click on graphic on larger image> GDPNow – Latest forecast — April 30, 2015 The initial GDPNow model forecast for real GDP growth (seasonally adjusted annual rate) in the second quarter of 2015 was 0.9 percent on April 30. Real GDP grew 0.2 percent in the first quarter, according to the “advance” estimate from the… Continue reading The Atlanta Fed’s Q2 2015 GDP Forecast
The Wall Street Journal – Editorial: The Slow-Growth Fed Congress’s Joint Economic Committee points out that U.S. GDP would be $1.7 trillion greater than its current $17.71 trillion if growth in this recovery had merely met the historical average. That means 5.5 million fewer Americans are working than would be otherwise, and millions who are… Continue reading The Big Fight This Week: The Wall Street Journal vs. Bernanke