The Wall Street Journal – Jon Hilsenrath: Fed Officials Express Increasing Concern Over Weak Economic Data June interest-rate move looks less likely as policy makers voice wait-and-see view A patch of soft economic data has created uncertainty inside the Federal Reserve about when to start raising short-term interest rates, reducing the probability of a move… Continue reading Does This Officially End June Rate Hike Talk?
<Click on graphic for larger image> The Economist – Oil prices: Unconventional but normal The fall in the oil price has not curbed fracking nearly as much as expected WHEN the oil price crashed last year, many assumed that the earliest casualties would be the small, nimble American companies that specialise in getting “unconventional” oil… Continue reading Oil Demand
<Click on graphic for larger image> The Economist – Liquidity in markets:Frozen Regulators have made banking safer. But has that made markets riskier? Meanwhile, the value of outstanding bonds has swollen to record levels, most of them in the hands of asset managers (see chart). That is in part a corollary of banks trimming lending,… Continue reading More Concerns Over Market Liquidity
<Click on graphic for larger image> Bloomberg Brief – Chase Van Der Rhoer: On Greece, CDS Markets Don’t Believe It’s ‘Different This Time’ Don’t be fooled by Greece making good on an IMF payment last week: the country is still headed into a hot mess, according to the markets. In 2012, Greece experienced a credit… Continue reading Is Greece Really A Big Deal This Time?
Bloomberg.com – World’s Biggest Wealth Fund Says Monetary Risks at Historic High For Norway’s $890 billion sovereign-wealth fund, the investment risks stemming from monetary policy have never been greater. Like most global investors, the Oslo-based fund is trying to navigate uncharted terrain as central banks across the world push out stimulus to protect economic growth… Continue reading Another Risk In Central Bank Policy
Bloomberg.com – China Futures Tumble on Trust Curbs, Expansion of Short Selling Chinese stock-index futures tumbled after regulators clamped down on the use of shadow financing for equity purchases and increased the supply of shares available for short sellers. FTSE China A50 Index futures for April delivery tumbled 5.2 percent in Singapore at 7:43 p.m.… Continue reading Problems In China?
None Today
Comment Today at 9 AM CT (10:00 AM ET, 7:00 AM PT, and 15:00 BST), Bianco Research, in conjunction with Arbor Research & Trading, will be hosting a webcast/teleconference moderated by Jim Bianco. Join us today as we discuss the “three Es”: Earnings: Q1 earnings season started last week. We will review what the market… Continue reading The Three “Es”: Earnings, Energy and the Economy and The Two “Ms”: Markets and Monetary Policy
Comment Yesterday Jim Bianco was on CNBC talking about Bernanke’s new blog and interest rates. To view the interview, click on the image above. To view any of our recent interviews, click here. Brookings.edu – Ben Bernanke: Monetary policy in the future If the Committee were to contemplate changing its framework, there are two directions… Continue reading Bernanke’s Blog
Real Time Economics (WSJ Blog) – Fed’s Lacker Says a Strong Case Can Be Made for Higher Rates Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond President Jeffrey Lacker said Wednesday a good argument can still be made to raise rates at the U.S. central bank’s mid-June policy meeting. “I think a strong case can be made that… Continue reading Timing The First Rate Hike
<Click on chart for larger image> MoneyBeat (WSJ Blog) – Why Are Japanese Investors Piling Into Treasurys? With Japanese investors piling into U.S. Treasurys and taking over China as the largest foreign holders, fund managers and strategists in Tokyo say the driving force is more than just buying bonds that yield more than government debt… Continue reading Japan Overtakes China As Largest Foreign Holder Of U.S. Treasuries
<Click on chart for larger image> Bloomberg.com – A. Gary Shilling: Where Have All the Consumers Gone? Retail sales rose less than expected in March after declining for three consecutive months. Since the U.S. began collecting data in 1967, only twice has it seen three-month stretches of waning retail sales in non-recessionary times. This is… Continue reading More On Retail Sales