<Click on chart for larger image> Bloomberg – Yellen Sends Odds of Any Rate Increase Below 50% Until December Money-market futures traders cut the odds of a Federal Reserve interest-rate increase below 50 percent until December after Chair Janet Yellen lowered her outlook for growth and the pace of policy tightening. The likelihood that policy… Continue reading Timing The First Rate Hike
The Financial Times – ETFs crowd into top US oil contract Almost a third of the most active US oil futures contract is now controlled by exchange traded funds, turning smaller investors into a muscular force on global commodities markets…Analysts at ETF Securities said oil ETFs now hold between 175m-180m barrels equivalent of WTI for… Continue reading Crude Oil Futures And ETFs
<Click on graphic for larger image> Bloomberg.com – Wages Haven’t Been This Crucial to U.S. Economy in Half Century When it comes to U.S. economic growth, wages may never have been this important. The link between earnings and consumer spending has been tighter in this expansion than in any other since records began in the… Continue reading Wage Growth
<Click on chart for larger image> CNBC – Yardeni: Markets all rigged, it is what it is The stock market is “rigged,” but that’s not necessarily a bad thing, strategist Ed Yardeni said Thursday, a day after the latest dovish signal from the Federal Reserve. “I love these central bankers, they’ve been very good to… Continue reading QE Works … For Stocks, World Edition
<Click on chart for larger image> The Financial Times – Yellen battles Draghi in euro-dollar drama Central banks around the world are instead engaged in “competitive easing”; Sweden’s Riksbank, for example, this week pushed its main interest rate even deeper into negative territory. Behind the dollar’s recent rise against the euro has been a widening… Continue reading The Dollar
The Economist – The role of government bonds as an asset class is changing NEGATIVE bond yields are a very modern phenomenon. The idea that rational investors would sign up to lose money in nominal terms would have seemed laughable 30 years ago. Now it looks as if European investors are embracing Islamic finance, which… Continue reading The Changing Role Of Government Bonds
Comment Today at 9 AM CT (10:00 AM ET, 7:00 AM PT, and 14:00 GMT), 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 March 18 FOMC meeting along with a look at this year’s economic and earnings data.… Continue reading The FOMC Meeting, The Economy & Earnings
Comment Yesterday Jim Bianco was on CNBC discussing the Federal Reserve statement and Janet Yellen’s press conference. To watch to the interview, click in the image above. To view any of our recent interviews, click here. Yesterday we summarized what we have been saying for weeks: Yellen gaffed in December when she defined “patient” as… Continue reading What Did The Fed Do Yesterday?
The Wall Street Journal – Investors Raise Alarm Over Liquidity Shortage Central banks across the world have turned on the money-supply taps, but investors and regulators are increasingly worried about a shortage of liquidity that they say could lead to severe disruption in financial markets…BIS data show that in the U.S., broker-dealers who match buyers… Continue reading Liquidity Concerns
The Financial Times – Strong currents that keep interest rates down Why are interest rates so low? The best answer is that the advanced countries are still in a “managed depression”. This malady is deep. It will not end soon…Yet today we hear a different explanation for why interest rates are so low: it is… Continue reading Low Rate Environment
Real Time Economics (WSJ Blog) – No Decisions Yet About Timing Of Fed’s Reinvestment Process End Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen said on Wednesday that officials haven’t decided how long they’ll wait before stopping a program that keeps their balance sheet steady following an initial rate increase. Ms. Yellen, speaking at a news conference following… Continue reading The Fed’s Reinvestment Process