MoneyBeat – Graphing New Fed Voters Versus Old Suggests Rate Hike Isn’t Looming When it comes to the Fed, you can never have too many dots. The graph above, generated by a research firm called Prattle Analytics, tracks the sentiment of speeches and other communications from the members of the Federal Open Market Committee. Using… Continue reading Taking Fed Speak To The Next Level
The Economist – Easing means squeezing Quantitative easing has both good and bad implications for Europe’s banks The ECB’s move will have other benefits, too, in particular if it helps pep up the moribund European economy. QE has prompted a swift fall in the value of the euro, which is good news for exporters. Some… Continue reading ECB QE
The Economist – A peg in a poke Currency markets have suddenly become a lot more volatile THE year is only a few weeks old but already there has been turmoil in the foreign-exchange markets. On January 28th Singapore eased monetary policy, allowing its currency to fall to its lowest level against the dollar since… Continue reading Currency Volatility
<Click on chart for larger image> The Wall Street Journal – Eurozone Consumer Prices Fell Sharply in January Decline in Inflation Puts Pressure on ECB Consumer prices in the eurozone fell more sharply and more broadly in January, heightening the risk of a slide toward deflation that the European Central Bank hopes to halt and… Continue reading European Deflation?
Forbes – Resale Prices For Super Bowl XLIX Tickets Rise To Record Levels Over the last 49 years, the Super Bowl has become a literal and figurative peak for American commercialism to aspire to. While it was decidedly not larger than life in the early years, it has become the biggest, most extravagant event in… Continue reading A Bubble In Superbowl Tickets!
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Comment Yesterday Jim was on Bloomberg TV discussing the strong dollar and the Fed meeting. To view the interview, click on the image above. To view any of our recent interviews, click here. The December 17 and January 20 FOMC statements are shown side-by-side below with any changes highlighted. Interestingly, economists have interpreted yesterday’s statement… Continue reading Was The Fed Statement Hawkish Or Dovish?
Real Time Economics (WSJ Blog) – Fed’s Interest Rate Floor May Leak No More The Federal Reserve appears to have found the right formula to plug its leaky short-term interest rate floor, but it’s still working to make sure it’s right. The Fed announced Wednesday that in addition to the overnight reverse repurchase agreements it’s… Continue reading The Fed’s Fixed Rate Reverse Repo Facility
Real Time Economics (WSJ Blog) – The Case for Holding a Fed News Conference at Every Meeting No one expected major changes in Federal Reserve policy at this week’s meeting—and sure enough, there were only a few tweaks to the statement language. Part of the reason investors weren’t looking for any action has to do… Continue reading The Case For Fed Q&A At Every Meeting
ValueWalk.com – Finding Dividend Paying Stocks During Market Volatility In the coming volatile times, it will be more challenging to pick the winners and losers. They will change from one week to the next based on the latest news that has the financial pundits and media a buzz. But that doesn’t mean you can’t add… Continue reading Investing In Dividend Paying Stocks
<Click on chart for larger image> Comment As the chart above shows, claims were at their lowest level since 259,000 was reported the week of April 20, 2000. This was also the second lowest reading since 256,000 were reported the week of November 30, 1973! Bloomberg – Jobless Claims in U.S. Plunge to 15-Year Low… Continue reading Initial Claims Plunge
<Click on chart for larger image> The Financial Times – Bonds: Caught in a debt trap Crisis-fighting actions by central banks have not only sent yields on government debt to lows not previously seen in recent history but many of them are now negative. Across much of Europe, investors are actually paying for the privilege… Continue reading Negative Yields