Zero Hedge – No, It’s Not A “Stock Picker’s Market”, Whatever That Means One of the phrases which we have done our best to bury over the last few years has been the absolutely idiotic statement “money on the sidelines” (and right behind it “more sellers|buyers than buyers|sellers”). Sadly a group of persistent, if clueless… Continue reading The “Stock Picker’s Market”
The New York Times – Fed Recognized Change in Unemployment Goal Could Be Misunderstood When the Federal Reserve changed the guidelines for its stimulus campaign last month, it did not change its commitment to supporting the economy, according to an account of the decision that the Fed published on Wednesday. Janet L. Yellen, the Fed’s… Continue reading Understanding Fedspeak
CNBC – Banker showdown: Bernanke tells off India’s Rajan In a surprising faceoff Thursday between two of the world’s most prominent central bankers, former Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke shot back at one of his most prominent critics in monetary policy circles: India’s central bank chief, Raghuram Rajan. Speaking at a Brookings Institution panel discussion… Continue reading Bernanke Yells Back
<Click on chart for larger image> The Telegraph (UK) – Jeremy Warner: The world economy may well be stuck in neutral for years Low interest rates in the US and Greece are not a sign of recovery, but a warning of permanent stagnation, creating the potential for future financial instability It is now nearly seven… Continue reading World GDP Growth
The Economist – The future of finance: Leviathan of last resort State subsidies and guarantees are once again corroding the financial sector and creating new dangers EVER since Lehman Brothers went bankrupt in 2008 a common assumption has been that the crisis happened because the state surrendered control of finance to the market. The answer,… Continue reading Too Much Government In Financial Markets
Real-Time Economics (WSJ Blog) – Japan’s Still-Clogged Economic Plumbing There are plenty of hopeful signs that Japan’s economy is shaking off years of torpor, from a newly vibrant stock market to shopkeepers raising prices and workers actually asking for wage increases — and getting them. And then there are the banks. The accompanying graph, courtesy… Continue reading Concerns Over Japan
The Economist – Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac: The ugly twins of finance America’s huge mortgage-market distortions seem likely to endure YOU could argue that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, two “government-sponsored enterprises” (GSEs) in the mortgage business which received the biggest bail-out of the financial crisis, have paid their debt to society. At any… Continue reading Fannie and Freddie
Telegraph (UK) – Ambrose Evans-Pritchard: Top economists warn Germany that EMU crisis as dangerous as ever The eurozone debt crisis is deepening and threatens to re-erupt on a larger scale when the liquidity cycle turns, a leading panel of economists warned in a clash of views with German officials in Berlin. “Debts above 130pc of… Continue reading Another European Crisis Coming?
The Financial Times – Martin Wolf: Only the ignorant live in fear of hyperinflation Failure to understand the monetary system has made it more difficult for central banks to act Finally, quantitative easing – the purchase of assets by the central bank – will expand the broad money supply. It does so by replacing, say,… Continue reading Hyperinflation
The Economist – Buttonwood: On their own What explains the surge in self-employment? PERHAPS the future belongs to the self-employed. Steady jobs, after all, are hard to find. The idea that a young graduate should expect to work for 40 years with the same employer until retirement seems quaintly dated. There has been a structural… Continue reading Self-Employment
Bloomberg – Tudor to Return Money From Managed-Futures Fund Amid Loss (March 25) Tudor Investment Corp. is returning money to clients from its $120 million managed-futures fund run by Steve Evans after three years of losses. Investors in the Tudor Tensor Fund can put their money into a managed account that follows the same strategy,… Continue reading Hedge Funds Closing
CNBC – 2014 crash will be worse than 1987’s: Marc Faber Marc Faber says the stock market is setting up for a decline more painful than the sudden crash of 1987. “I think it’s very likely that we’re seeing, in the next 12 months, an ’87-type of crash,” Faber said with a devious chuckle on… Continue reading Scary Talk