The Wall Street Journal – Jobs Report: U.S. Adds 214,000 Jobs; Unemployment Rate Falls to 5.8% U.S. payrolls grew modestly in October but the unemployment rate fell and wages edged up, signs the labor market is strengthening. Nonfarm payrolls grew a seasonally adjusted 214,000 last month, the Labor Department said Friday. Since the start of… Continue reading Employment In Pictures
<Click on chart for larger image> <Click on chart for larger image> The Financial Times – US earnings boost masks revenue fears Beating earnings expectations has long been the game played by companies and Wall Street. And the latest results season has helped reverse last month’s turmoil, powering the S&P 500 into record territory. Strong… Continue reading U.S. Earnings Beats Mask Revenue Disaster
The Financial Times – European Central Bank united on €1tn liquidity injection Mario Draghi secured unanimous support from the European Central Bank’s governing council for his plan to inject €1tn to rescue the eurozone economy from stagnation, as he sought to dispel concerns over growing divisions within the central bank. All 23 policy makers backed… Continue reading QE In Europe
<Click on chart for larger image> The Financial Times – Dollar holds ground ahead of jobs data The Central Bank of Russia said on Wednesday it would not spend more than $350m a day buying roubles to ease the currency’s slide, pledging to allow the exchange rate to be determined “predominantly by market factors”, although… Continue reading The Russian Ruble Falls
The Economist – Every man for himself Economic policies are diverging in the developed world as deflation looms CENTRAL banks in the developed world are no longer acting in tandem. When the financial crisis broke in 2007-08, most banks eased monetary policy significantly. But in late October, two days after the Federal Reserve ceased its… Continue reading Worrying About Deflation
The Economist – The searing Twenties The depression of 1920-21 has much to teach modern policymakers THE economic slump that afflicted America in 1920 and 1921 was a nasty affair. Real output fell by some 9% and unemployment may have soared as high as 19%—the statistics are patchy—making it easily twice as bad as the… Continue reading What The 1920-21 Depression Can Teach Us
The Economist – Advice and dissent The Fed mollifies its hawks but now its doves are fretting IN HIS nine years as president of one of the Federal Reserve’s twelve regional branches, in Dallas, Richard Fisher has voted against the Fed’s monetary policy eight times, always in favour of a tighter stance. Not one to… Continue reading Hawks vs Doves At The Federal Reserve
The Financial Times – Oil under pressure as supply concerns fade Oil prices came under renewed pressure on Thursday as concerns about potential supply disruptions in Libya and Saudi Arabia faded and the US dollar strengthened. Rumours of a pipeline explosion in Saudi Arabia and the seizure of Libya’s El Sharara field by armed militia… Continue reading More On Crude Oil
The Wall Street Journal – SEC Lets Eaton Vance Offer New Kind of ETF The mutual-fund industry is relying heavily on the growth of ETFs as investors move out of actively managed funds run by stock pickers. One of industry participants’ chief complaints about ETFs, however, is that they must disclose their holdings, allowing competitors… Continue reading A New ETF
Bloomberg – Central Banks Can’t Be ‘Only Game in Town’ Boosting Economies Central banks cannot propel economic growth alone and governments must take steps too if expansions are to speed up, policy makers and investors said. A day after the European Central Bank signaled it may soon boost its bond buying to tackle weak inflation,… Continue reading Boosting Economies
New York Post – US economic growth is all an illusion Fake growth: The US economy is growing moderately. That’s pretty much certain — but it’s not growing as fast as the government would have you believe. The Commerce Department recently pegged third-quarter growth at a 3.5 percent annual rate — but earlier this week,… Continue reading Another Story On Paul Singer & The Illusion Of Economic Growth