<Click on graphic for larger image> The Wall Street Journal – Hedge Funds Win as Euro Falls Bets against the common currency augment returns The euro’s plunge has given a much-needed lift to hedge funds that have been repeatedly frustrated by the world’s central banks. A bevy of multibillion-dollar funds has gained as much as… Continue reading Betting On The Euro
<Click on chart for larger image> The Financial Times – Investors pile into eurozone shares Investors have pumped record amounts of money into eurozone equity funds this year, against the backdrop of the European Central Bank’s long-awaited quantitative easing programme and the sharp slide in the value of the euro. Some $35.6bn has flowed into… Continue reading QE Works … For Stock Investors
<Click on graphic for larger image> Factset – Earnings Insight for March 13, 2015 On March 18 after the close of trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average will feature the addition of a new component. Apple will be added to the index, while AT&T will be removed from the index. In terms of earnings growth,… Continue reading An Earnings Update
Bloomberg – Oil Slumps to Six-Year Low as U.S. Production Seen Filling Tanks Oil dropped to the lowest intraday price since March 2009 amid speculation that record U.S. crude supply may start to strain the country’s storage capacity. Futures lost as much as 2.8 percent to $43.57 a barrel in New York, falling for a… Continue reading Slumping Crude Oil
Bloomberg.com – No, We’re Not in a Currency War Anyone paying attention to the financial media could easily get the impression that the world is hellbent on stealing the U.S. economic recovery. Central banks from Frankfurt to Beijing, the story goes, are pushing down their currencies’ exchange rates against the dollar — and against one… Continue reading Currency Wars
<Click on graphic for larger image> Bloomberg – Surprise: U.S. Economic Data Have Been the World’s Most Disappointing Is this a sign of unanticipated weakness in the economy? The Bloomberg ECO U.S. Surprise Index, which measures whether data beat or miss forecasts, fell to the lowest since 2009, when the nation was in the deepest recession since… Continue reading Surprise Indices
The Wall Street Journal – Greek Crisis Tests ECB’s Credibility The success of the banking union hinges on the ECB convincing markets that it offers a decisive break with a European past in which national authorities were seen as too susceptible to political pressure, too willing to overlook weak bank balance sheets to shield government… Continue reading Greece & ECB Credibility
<Click on graphic for larger image> <Click on graphic for larger image> The Wall Street Journal – The Billion Prices Project Thinks Inflation May Have Turned a Sharp Corner The official measures of inflation from the Labor Department and Commerce Department are only available through January, with no turn evident in that data. But the… Continue reading Will The Fed Starting Using This?
<Click on chart for larger image> Bloomberg.com – Beware the $300 Billion Shift Into Treasuries From Japan HSBC Holdings Plc says Japanese investors may funnel $300 billion into Treasuries over the next two to three years, double the pace of the nation’s purchases since 2012. “The BOJ is crowding out private investors,” said Yusuke Ito,… Continue reading Japanese Purchases Of U.S. Treasuries
<Click on graphic for larger image> The Wall Street Journal – Broadest Unemployment Measure ‘Less Rosy’ The nation’s jobless rate has fallen steadily in recent years to 5.5% in February. That is at the top of the 5.2%-to-5.5% range many Fed policy makers consider to be full employment, or the rate the economy can sustain… Continue reading A Tale Of Two Jobs Markets
The New York Times – How Many Mutual Funds Routinely Rout the Market? Zero The bull market in stocks turned six last Monday, and despite some rocky stretches — like last week, when the market fell — it has generally been a very pleasant time for money managers, who have often posted good numbers. Look… Continue reading A Good Fund Manager Is Tough To Find
The Wall Street Journal – ECB Brings Eurozone Bonds to Boiling Point On a long-term investing horizon, today’s European yields look decidedly bubbly. If nothing else, low and negative yields, are challenging a fundamental reason for buying bonds: steady income. Instead, buyers increasingly appear to be betting on capital gains. That is effectively turning debt… Continue reading Negative Yields