MoneyBeat (WSJ Blog) – ‘Juicing’ Stock Returns—and Getting Squeezed If you can’t beat ’em, juice ’em. Unable to pick stocks that outperform the market, dozens of mutual funds appear to be chasing higher dividend yields with a costly and potentially risky trading tactic that new research calls “juicing.” A study co-written by Lawrence Harris, a… Continue reading Stock Funds Looking For Dividends
The Financial Times – China’s bull market charges ahead In volatile trading, China’s Shanghai Composite rose 19 per cent — extending its rally since late October to 30 per cent. In the year to date, the market has surged 41 per cent, making it the best performing bourse in the region. The index is trading… Continue reading Stimulus At Work
iframe src=”http://www.cato.org/longtail-iframe/node/55161/field_longtail_player/0″ width=”640″ height=”360″ frameborder=”0″ allowfullscreen webkitallowfullscreen mozallowfullscreen> Cato Institute – 32nd Annual Monetary Conference: Opening Keynote Jim Grant was the keynote speaker: * “My generation gave former tenured economics professors discretionary authority to fabricate money and to fix interest rates. * We put the cart of asset prices before the horse of enterprise. *… Continue reading The Cato Institute’s Annual Monetary Conference
The Financial Times – Bank for International Settlements sounds alarm over dollar Global financial policy makers have sounded the alarm about the impact of a resurgent US dollar on emerging markets, where companies have racked up large debts denominated in the American currency. The Bank for International Settlements, known as the central bankers’ bank, warned… Continue reading The BIS Chimes In On Surging Dollar
<Click on chart for larger image> Bloomberg.com – One Hundred Years of Bond History Means Bears Destined to Lose If you’re convinced the plummet in yields of U.S. government bonds is an aberration, it may be because you haven’t been in the business long enough. With the longest-dated Treasuries now yielding less than half the… Continue reading Bond Bearishness Based On A History Of Yields
Comment The chart in the block above shows falling world growth forecasts. The stories below offer some color on the topic. Reuters – Euro zone warning hits stocks, currency as oil plumbs depths uropean stocks and the euro wallowed on Monday amid a stark warning about the currency bloc’s economic prospects, keeping pressure on rock-bottom… Continue reading Speaking of World Growth
Joe Francis (blog) – The Rise and Fall of Debate in Economics New data illustrate the extent to which economists have stopped discussing each other’s work. Once upon a time, economists regularly used to publicly criticise each other’s work in academic journals. But not any more. In Figure 1 I have illustrated the degree to which economists have… Continue reading Thou Shall Not Criticize Another Economist
The Wall Street Journal – Banks Urge Clients to Take Cash Elsewhere Banks are urging some of their largest customers in the U.S. to take their cash elsewhere or be slapped with fees, citing new regulations that make it onerous for them to hold certain deposits. The banks, including J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., Citigroup… Continue reading The Banks Don’t Want Your Money
None Today
The Wall Street Journal – U.S. Payrolls in November Grew 321,000; Jobless Rate 5.8% U.S. employers ramped up hiring last month, continuing a stretch of robust payroll gains and keeping the economy on track to record its strongest year of job creation in 15 years. Nonfarm payrolls rose a seasonally adjusted 321,000 last month, the… Continue reading Employment In Pictures
Comment Jim Bianco was on CNBC on Thursday discussing Europe and oil. To view the interview, click on the image above. To view any of our recent interviews, click here. As pointed out in the interview, the market will probably give the ECB until the end of the first quarter to announce QE. At the… Continue reading The ECB
The Economist – The new economics of oil: Sheikhs v shale The economics of oil have changed. Some businesses will go bust, but the market will be healthier So the economics of oil have changed. The market will still be subject to political shocks: war in the Middle East or the overdue implosion of Vladimir… Continue reading Covering Oil