CNN Money – U.S. investors flee Europe After devouring European assets early this year, U.S. investors are now avoiding them like the plague. Cutting European exposure: Americans have pulled money out of exchange-traded funds (ETFs) that track the European markets for six straight weeks, bleeding $4 billion over that span, according to research by Markit.… Continue reading U.S. Investors Exit Europe
The Financial Times – Argentina proposes voluntary debt swap Argentina’s President Cristina Fernández announced plans on Tuesday to launch a voluntary debt swap aimed at dodging a US court ruling that last month triggered the country’s second default in less than 13 years. The government is seeking approval from congress for plans that would enable… Continue reading Argentina Proposes Debt Swap
<Click on chart for larger image> The Financial Times – M&A boom must evolve to create growth Expansion in labour and investment must be the aim of mergers Huge cash buffers, together with cheap and plentiful financing, are fuelling a merger and acquisition boom that has delivered sizeable windfalls for investors. To sustain these gains,… Continue reading M&A And Real Economic Growth
<Click on chart for larger image> International Business Times – Inflation Hawks’ Arguments Not Apparent In Latest CPI Data “Inflation is not accelerating,” said Stuart Hoffman, chief economist at PNC Financial Services Group. “Core prices have been increasing at a steady 0.1 to 0.2 percent monthly pace for years.” The weak growth in income signals… Continue reading U.S. Inflation
Bloomberg.com – Jackson Hole Guide: Investors Seek Yellen Job-Market View Yellen’s keynote: The highlight will be Fed Chair Janet Yellen’s speech Aug. 22 on labor markets at 10 a.m. New York time. She’ll probably reiterate the Fed’s view that there is plenty of room for improvement in the labor market, according to Dean Maki, chief… Continue reading More On Jackson Hole
Alan Greenspan helps his wife Andrea Mitchell accept the ice bucket challenge
Bloomberg View – Mohamed A. El-Erian: Why Are Bonds and Stocks Acting Strangely? The past week saw a dynamic in financial markets that, not long ago, would have been deemed quite unusual: Prices of all kinds of assets, from safe government bonds to risky stocks, rose together. German bunds and U.S. Treasuries gained, pushing yields… Continue reading Revisiting The Stock/Bond Relationship
Grand Central (WSJ Blog) – Jon Hilsenrath: Fed’s Exit Strategy Quietly Taking Shape As September Meeting Approaches Federal Reserve officials have been making progress on developing a blueprint for the mechanics of future interest rate increases, a project that has occupied much of the agenda of their past three policy meetings. This puts officials in… Continue reading Does The Fed Have An Exit Strategy?
Minyanville – The Buyback Beat Goes on , Harder Than Ever I updated the Flow of Funds data in and out of stocks from the Fed’s newest data release. The latest series is from of 6/5/14 and covers through Q1 of 2014. Please note that the Fed makes significant historical revisions to these data every quarter.… Continue reading Stock Buybacks
<Click on chart for larger image> <Click on chart for larger image> Bloobmerg.com – Bond Liquidity Risk in $3.5 Trillion Funds Defused by Cash The record $3.5 trillion stockpiled in U.S. fixed-income funds is raising the specter the bond market will buckle under the strain of redemptions once interest rates rise. Simple math suggests there’s… Continue reading Bond Funds
MarketWatch – Fed should squelch any idea of a ‘Yellen put,’ former central banker says he Federal Reserve must guard against the perception that there is a “Yellen put” in place to keep the stock market moving endlessly higher, said Jeremy Stein, a former governor of the central bank. “Markets seem to sense an element… Continue reading Yellen Won’t Do This Because It Is Not True
Business Insider – FLECKENSTEIN: There’s ‘No Chance’ That This Ends Well “Bonds are a joke, yes, and stocks are a joke, and which one is going to crack first and which one is going to lead to more trouble, I can’t tell you, other than both are going to be big problems somewhere down the… Continue reading Fleckenstein Speaks