The Wall Street Journal – Strong Dollar Won’t Weaken Earnings Just Yet But the dollar’s effect on third-quarter earnings should be muted. For starters, much of the appreciation came within the past month, so overseas sales booked earlier won’t have been so dinged by currency appreciation. Indeed, on an average daily basis, the dollar is… Continue reading Earnings And The Strong Dollar
The Wall Street Journal – The Epic Year in Initial Public Offerings All told, 2014 is on pace to be the second biggest year for U.S.-listed IPOs by amount raised since Dealogic started tracking them in 1995. Companies have raised nearly $77 billion on U.S. exchanges in 2014, almost double what was raised by this… Continue reading IPO Volume
<Click on chart for larger image> MoneyBeat (WSJ Blog) – Margin Debt Is Elevated, Not Excessive Margin debt’s recent trend has diverged from past market peaks, suggesting the bull market still has more room to run. Investors borrowed $463 billion against their brokerage accounts in August, according to the latest report on so-called margin debt… Continue reading What Is Margin Debt Telling Us?
Real Time Economics (WSJ Blog) – Economy Has Made Substantial Progress Toward Fed Goals, Says Mester Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland President Loretta Mester said Wednesday the U.S. economy has made “substantial” progress, adding that what the central bank does with its current easy money policy must be driven by how the economic data unfolds.… Continue reading More Fed Presidents Voice Opinion On ‘Considerable Time’
The Wall Street Journal – Chinese Leaders Discuss Replacing PBOC Chief Chinese leaders are discussing replacing the central bank chief amid disagreements over the direction of financial policy, raising questions over how quickly and deeply Beijing wants to remake the economy amid slowing growth. Chinese leader Xi Jinping is considering removing Zhou Xiaochuan —the face… Continue reading Possible Changes For PBOC Leadership
MoneyBeat (WSJ Blog) – Some Context for That New Home Sales ‘Surge’ New home sales rose 18% in August from a month ago, the headlines trumpet, the biggest single-monthly increase since 1992. It’s a big, glitzy number that gives heart to anybody lashing their future to housing. But digging beyond that headline shows how fragile… Continue reading Don’t Let Housing Headlines Fool You, Sales Still Mediocre
<Click on chart for larger image> MoneyBeat (WSJ Blog) – Deleveraging? What Deleveraging? By general reckoning, a surfeit of debt was at the root of the financial crisis of 2007 and 2008–not least U.S. household borrowing against property. When the bust came, so too did the defaults. Banks squeezed credit. And people and firms were… Continue reading Deleveraging
The Wall Street Journal – Junk-Bond Investors Start to See Warning Signs How long will the conditions persist that gave rise to a five-year rally in junk bonds and other risky assets? The economy is gaining steam, many economists say, judging by job growth, factory activity and other metrics. An improving economy is generally good… Continue reading Junk Bonds
Associated Press – Close races mean possibility Senate control will be decided by post Election Day runoffs A handful of tight races in states with quirky election laws make for the possibility that Election Day will come and go without deciding which party controls the Senate. If that happens, brace for a fierce runoff election… Continue reading The Race For Senate Seats
Bloomberg.com – ETF Liquidity Risk a Concern for Regulators, Wilkins Says The financial system’s global regulatory body is examining whether exchange-traded funds pose a risk to market stability when interest rates start to rise, according to the Bank of Canada’s representative to the group. “There’s been investments and positions taken that may not have the… Continue reading More Concerns Over ETF Liquidity