The Wall Street Journal – CFOs Don’t Trust Cheaper Gasoline to Fuel Holiday Sales Forget reindeer. Santa’s sleigh could be turbocharged by cheaper gasoline this holiday season, even if finance chiefs in the retail industry aren’t ready to promise investors stuffed stockings. The average U.S. price of a gallon of regular gasoline fell below $3… Continue reading More On Lower Gas Prices & Consumer Spending
Project Syndicate – The Federal Reserve’s Escape from New York In view of the Fed’s decidedly mixed track record since the Dodd-Frank reforms, some officials evidently regarded that default by Congress as a mandate to conduct business as usual. Recent press reports have highlighted lapses in supervision, particularly in and around the Federal Reserve Bank… Continue reading The New York Federal Reserve
<Click on chart for larger image> <Click on chart for larger image> Bloomberg.com – Hedge Funds Lose Money for Everyone, Not Just the Rich Guess what the hedge fund firms are doing now? Hunting for new, less skeptical customers. While only those with at least $1 million are allowed to invest in hedge funds, anyone… Continue reading Alternative Funds Pick Up Where Hedge Funds Left Off
The Financial Times – Traders’ credit market concerns grow A meltdown in global credit markets is inevitable and the only questions concern the timing and catalyst, say traders and investors in European corporate bonds involved in a recent study. That is one of the stark conclusions of a report published by the International Capital Market… Continue reading Credit Market Concerns
The Wall Street Journal – Alan S. Blinder: The Unsettling Mystery of Productivity Since 2010 U.S. productivity has grown at a miserable rate. And no one, not even the Fed, seems to understand why. In sum, here’s what we know—and do not know—about productivity growth. First, it’s been dismal for the past four years. Second,… Continue reading Where Is The Productivity Growth?
MarketWatch – The Fed has boxed U.S. into a tough easy-money corner Despite the Federal Reserve ending its purchases of Treasury bonds, U.S. monetary policy remains accommodative — and will be for a long time to come. The downside is too great. Withdrawing fiscal stimulus would slow economic activity. Reduction in government services and higher… Continue reading Easy Money Forever
<Click on chart for larger image> Yahoo Finance – BoJ policymakers divided over extra stimulus: minutes Policymakers were sharply divided over expanding the Bank of Japan’s huge monetary easing plan last month, with opponents warning that the risks far outweighed any benefits, minutes from the meeting showed Tuesday. The BoJ surprised markets on October 31… Continue reading Behind The Scenes Of The BoJ’s Stimulus Decision
Conference Call Presentation/Charts of the Week Audio [audio:https://www.biancoresearch.com/bianco/SubscriberArea/112514.mp3|titles=Conference Call ] Topics Covered This Week Include: A Dozen Unconventional Thoughts Crude Oil, Supply Or Demand? Is $42.75/Month A Game Changer For The U.S. Consumer? Is The US Economy Still Broken? Is Abenomics Working More QE Coming Is China Turning The Corner How Bad Is Europe? Europe… Continue reading Conference Call Presentation/Charts of the Week
Comment On November 25, 2014 at 9 AM CT (10:00 AM ET, 7:00 AM PT, and 15:00 GMT), Bianco Research, in conjunction with Arbor Research & Trading, will be hosting a webcast/teleconference moderated by Jim Bianco. Join us Tuesday as we discuss the oil market, government gridlock, Fed policy and the economy. Our handout will… Continue reading Unconventional Thoughts
Yahoo Finance – Q3 Earnings Season Mostly Behind Us Now We don’t have much in terms of earnings releases this Thanksgiving Day week, but we still have 69 companies releasing results, including 7 S&P 500 members. The Q3 earnings season is mostly behind us, with results from 486 S&P 500 members already known…The Q3 earnings… Continue reading An Earnings Update – Q3 Ending On Positive Note, But Future Growth Looks Dismal
Real Time Economics (WSJ Blog) – Fed’s Bullard Says Markets Misread Him In October Bond-Buying Dustup The last month has been a challenging time for St. Louis Fed President James Bullard. In the view of many market observers, the veteran central banker has sent conflicting messages about the outlook for Federal Reserve interest rate policy,… Continue reading A Sign Of The Fed’s Willingness To Keep Stimulus On The Table?