The Wall Street Journal – Martin Feldstein And Robert Rubin: The Fed’s Systemic-Risk Balancing Act Using ‘macroprudential’ tools means recognizing the breadth of the potential trouble in the financial system. Thus, we see three important issues with respect to relying on macroprudential tools. First, since a wide range of assets and asset holders are involved,… Continue reading Who Thinks Macroprudential Tools Work?
Federal Reserve Bank Of Cleveland – Recent Owners’ Equivalent Rent Inflation Is Probably Not a Blip Our results are surprising. OER inflation does not appear to be influenced by vacancy rates, unemployment rates, the real interest rate, or our gap measure. Of the variables investigated, only lagged house price appreciation appears to have a statistically… Continue reading What Drives OER?
The Washington Post – Some safe state governors face unexpectedly tough fall fights With no big national wave benefiting either party this year, some Democrats and Republicans are finding themselves unexpectedly competitive in territory that’s usually anything but — and at least half a dozen governors in so-called safe states, who tend to expect few… Continue reading The Race For Governors
The Wall Street Journal – U.S. Bank Profits Near Record Levels Industry Posts Second-Highest Profit in 23 Years in Quarter Ended June 30; Improved Credit Quality Helps Banks are lending to companies and individuals at the fastest pace since the financial crisis, helping propel profits to near-record levels. U.S. banks posted $40.24 billion in net… Continue reading Profitable Banks
The Wall Street Journal – In U.S. Energy Boom, Alaska Is Unlikely Loser The state, which staked most of its economy on energy in the 1970s after oil was found on the North Slope, is now competing with, and often losing out to, places with hotter oil fields—especially North Dakota. More people left Alaska than… Continue reading More On The US Energy Boom
The Financial Times – Stephen Foley: Markets enter the ‘Great Frustration’ phase Forget the Great Moderation. The credit crisis revealed that to be a mirage. Forget the Great Rotation. Investors never did switch en masse from bonds into equities. What we have today is more like the Great Frustration. Investors have little love for any… Continue reading Investing In The Great Frustration
The Financial Times – US Fed’s Fischer warns of poor growth The Federal Reserve’s vice-chairman has pointed to weak labour force participation and a soft US housing recovery as two reasons for disappointing global growth, saying this could be a long-term phenomenon. Stanley Fischer’s comments reflected continuing concern about the economy that has fuelled debate… Continue reading Stan Fischer Is Worried About Growth
Source: Novel Investor Comment For a larger and interactive view of these tables, click here. If you invest purely in EM stocks, you will either be the best or the worst money manager any given year.
Comment Jim Bianco was on CNBC on Friday discussing the markets. To view the interview click on the image above. To view any of our recent interviews, click here. In the interview Jim Talked about the rampant bearishness in the bond market (here and here). This is highlighted in the story below. <Click on chart… Continue reading Falling Yields
Factset.com – Market not rewarding earnings beats and punishing earnings misses Overall, 446 companies in the S&P 500 have reported earnings to date for the second quarter. Of these 446 companies, 73% have reported actual EPS above the mean EPS estimate. This percentage is slightly above the trailing 1-year average (72%). In aggregate, companies are… Continue reading An Earnings Update
Bloomberg.com – Matthew Schoenfeld: How the Fed Should Measure Inflation If the Fed simply averaged the consumer price index and corporate credit growth, the informational value of the combined indicator would be vastly improved. For example, the CPI grew by just 2 percent annually in the years before the tech bubble burst. The hybrid indicator… Continue reading Measuring Inflation