The Financial Times – Wolfgang Munchau: Draghi has missed the chance to act on inflation The European Central Bank saved the euro by providing a backstop to the member states of the single currency in 2012. That at least is the current received wisdom. I wonder, however, whether that will still be the judgment in… Continue reading Inflation & Central Bank Policy
Real Time Economics (WSJ Blog) – Mel Watt: Here’s How I’ll Run Fannie and Freddie Mr. Watt, the director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, discussed how he sees his responsibilities toward taxpayers and shareholders while operating the companies through a legal process known as conservatorship. He also clarified his view on what the agency… Continue reading The Future Of Fannie & Freddie
Geekosystem – Venture Capital Firm Appoints Robot to Board of Directors Does your boss already act like a cold and ruthless machine? Better not complain to employees at Hong Kong based Deep Knowledge Ventures: the company recently appointed a computer to their board to voice opinions “not immediately obvious to humans” (like when to get… Continue reading Robots Are Taking Over
Bloomberg.com – Wall of Worry Rebuilt as Nasdaq Rout Sends Cash to High Investors are losing their nerve in the stock market amid selling that has sent some industries down the most since 2008. In the past, that’s been a signal to buy. Global money managers raised cash holdings to a two-year high this month… Continue reading Climbing The Wall Of Worry
Real Time Economics (WSJ Blog) – Unemployment Declines in Carolinas Far Outpace U.S. The Carolinas continue to lead the nation in lowering their unemployment rates. Whether it’s due to a booming labor market is another matter. In April, South Carolina’s jobless rate fell to a seasonally adjusted 5.3%, down 2.6 percentage points from a year… Continue reading The Link Between Benefits & Unemployment
Business Insider – Employees At This Wealth Management Company Made A Cringeworthy Parody Rap Video The video’s been removed. We still have some GIFs — see below. Earlier, we wrote about an internal Deutsche Bank video spotted by the FT that featured the firm’s co-head of investment banking admonishing employees for their “vulgar” communications. Apparently,… Continue reading Cartoons
Bloomberg – Russian Holdings of U.S. Treasuries Dropped 20% in March Russia’s holdings of U.S. government securities fell by 20 percent in March as the U.S. and Europe stepped up pressure against Russia and as analysts said the nation’s central bank tried to shore up the value of the ruble. Russian holdings declined for a… Continue reading Russian Holdings Of Treasuries Declines Again
Business Insider – GUNDLACH: We Could Be On The Verge Of ‘One Of The Biggest Short-Covering Scrambles Of All Time’ “If we go down [more] on Treasury yields, we will see one of the biggest short-covering scrambles of all time,” said Gundlach on Wednesday in San Diego. This quote is being reported by FA Mag’s… Continue reading Measuring This Year’s Bond Rally
[hana-flv-player video=”https://www.biancoresearch.com/bianco/SubscriberArea/051514.flv” width=”600″ height=”495″ description=”” player=”3″ autoload=”false” autoplay=”false” loop=”false” autorewind=”true” splashimage=”https://www.biancoresearch.com/bianco/wp-content/themes/twentyten/images/splash.jpg” /] Comment Yesterday we hosted an internal conference call. The webcast and audio are above while some quick notes are below: Bonds: On CNBC yesterday, everybody was shocked when Jim said rates could go down further. Jeffrey Gundlach and Van Hoisington are the ONLY… Continue reading Discussing Markets
The Wall Street Journal – Global Growth Worries Climb Policy Makers in Europe, U.S. and China Grapple With What Steps to Take Next Five years after the financial crisis ended, soft growth in Europe, a stop-and-start U.S. recovery and waning momentum in China have policy makers groping for what to do next. A spate of… Continue reading Global Growth Slowing?
The Economist – The Federal Reserve: Supersize me Central banks’ swollen balance-sheets have their uses AMONG the many questions surrounding the Federal Reserve’s programme of quantitative easing (QE) is what will happen to the vast stockpile of bonds it has accumulated in its efforts to lower interest rates. Officials at the bank have never been… Continue reading The Fed’s Balance Sheet
Forbes – Carl Icahn’s Fund Down In First Quarter As Winning Streak Ends At the age of 78, billionaire Carl Icahn has been running circles around most hedge fund mangers in recent years. With winning bets on the shares of companies like Chesapeake Energy and Netflix, it has been a very strong stretch for Icahn,… Continue reading Icahn Has A Bad Quarter, Everyone Saw This Coming … Right?