<Click on chart for larger image> The Financial Times – Big investors replace banks in $4.2tn repo market Big investors, including hedge funds, mutual funds and real estate trusts, are replacing banks as the biggest users of the overnight funding market that played a key role in the financial crisis. The repo market, in which… Continue reading Repo Market
<Click on chart for larger image> South China Morning Post – Chinese property developers facing 3-year slump as good times end Most agree tough times are ahead, but optimists see recovery later this year if government acts China’s current property market downturn will probably last three years and eliminate a third of the players, the… Continue reading More Scary Stories From China
The Economist – National accounts: Sex, drugs and GDP Italy’s inclusion of illicit activities in its figures excites much interest THE announcement on May 22nd by Istat, Italy’s statistical body, that from October it would include drug trafficking, prostitution, and alcohol-and-tobacco smuggling in its economic-output numbers has generated a stream of sniggering headlines. To some,… Continue reading How To Measure GDP
The Economist – The job market: No degree required In many industries, blue-collar wages are on the upswing FOUR years ago construction was still deep in recession. When Baker Triangle, a drywalling firm, put out word that it was hiring, applicants would be lining up outside the door the next day. Now it has to… Continue reading Job Market
<Click on chart for larger image> The Financial Times – Gillian Tett: Tranquil markets are enjoying too much of a good thing After years of monetary experiments, central banks will do ‘whatever it takes’ This is bizarre. Financial history suggests that at this point in an economic cycle, volatility normally jumps; when interest rate and… Continue reading More on Low Volatility
<Click on chart for larger image> CNN/Money – Bitcoin is back! Price surges again Stop those funeral dirges for Bitcoin. The virtual currency is not dead. In fact, the price of Bitcoin on Bitstamp, one of the leading Bitcoin exchanges, is up more than 30% in the last two weeks! And it has shot up… Continue reading BitCoin …. It’s Back!
Comment Today at 9 AM CT (10:00 AM ET, 7:00 AM PT, and 15:00 BST), Bianco Research, in conjunction with Arbor Research & Trading, will be hosting a webcast/teleconference moderated by Jim Bianco. The bond market continues to confound the overwhelming consensus that rates will head higher. Join us today as we discuss why rates… Continue reading The Latest On The Bond Market’s Refusal To Acquiesce To The Consensus And The Economy
Watch the latest video at video.foxbusiness.com Comment Jim Bianco was on Fox Business yesterday discussing the stock and bond markets. To view the interview, click on the image above. To view any of our recent interviews, click here. The Wall Street Journal – Treasurys Rally, Sending 10-Year Yield to 2014 Low A roaring rally in… Continue reading Discussing The Markets
Real Time Economics (WSJ Blog) – Jon Hilsenrath: Inflation Overshoot May Be Needed San Francisco Fed President John Williams weighs in this week with a new research paper on the interplay between long-term unemployment, inflation and monetary policy. His conclusion: The Fed may need to allow inflation to overshoot for a time in order to… Continue reading John Williams Calls For Excessive Inflation
The Wall Street Journal – Big Profit Engines for Banks Falter It is becoming tougher and tougher being a U.S. bank. Squeezed by stricter regulations, a sputtering economy and anemic markets, financial institutions are finding profits hard to come by on both Main Street and Wall Street. The latest example of the twin forces pinching… Continue reading Bank Profitability
<Click on chart for larger image> Real Time Economics (WSJ Blog) – Niall Ferguson’s (Mostly) Comforting History of Central Bank Balance Sheet Expansions Niall Ferguson, the Harvard University historian, has a message for those who fret about the size of the Federal Reserve’s balance sheet: Don’t worry too much. In a paper presented at the… Continue reading A Historical Look At Central Bank Balance Sheets