Charts of the Week Topics Covered This Week Include: An Updated Look At Mutual Fund Flows S&P 500 And QE Are Small Cap Stocks Overvalued? Credit Spreads Fall To Multi-Year Lows Geopolitical Risk and Russia Will Selling SPR Hurt Russia Or The U.S.? Will Selling SPR Hurt Russia Or The U.S.? – 2 The Fed’s… Continue reading Charts of the Week
The Financial Times – Bundesbank hawk signals backing for QE One of the biggest barriers to the European Central Bank buying government bonds to save the eurozone from deflation was removed on Tuesday, after the head of Germany’s Bundesbank offered his first sign of support for quantitative easing. In a radical change of stance, Jens… Continue reading Germany Begins To Support The Idea Of QE As The ECB Battles Low Inflation
Bloomberg.com – Bullard Says Fed Hasn’t Discussed Date to End QE Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis President James Bullard said policy makers haven’t committed to a specific month to end bond purchases even as it would take a significant shift in the outlook to alter the path of tapering. “There’s a little bit of… Continue reading Fed Presidents Speak Their Minds
<Click on chart for larger image> Bloomberg.com – Home Prices in 20 U.S. Cities Rose 13.2% in Year to January Residential real-estate prices climbed at a slower pace in the year through January than a month earlier, indicating momentum in the housing market may be cooling. The S&P/Case-Shiller index of property values in 20 cities… Continue reading Home Prices
MarketWatch.com – Irwin Kellner: Borrow now before rates go up Commentary: Fed needs more hawkish guidance Instead of promising to keep interest rates low in order to encourage more borrowing, the Federal Reserve should say the exact opposite. Let’s face it: The Fed, like most of us, wants consumers and business to spend more. This… Continue reading Rising Rates
The Financial Times – Bonds are security blanket for investors Markets were surprised when US 10-year interest rates quickly came back down at the start of this year. But similar to the overshoot in equity markets at the end of last year, the real surprise was the overshoot in bond yields to 3 per cent… Continue reading Investing In Bonds
House Of Debt (Blog) – Jobless Recoveries in One Chart Here is a chart from Ed Leamer showing jobless recoveries after the last two recessions. There are several ways to see jobless recoveries in the data, but this one is particularly striking. It may take a little effort to follow it, but it is worth… Continue reading The Jobs Market
<Click on chart for larger image> <Click on chart for larger image> The Financial Times – Martin Wolf: China’s struggle for a new economy When a superb horse meets a high obstacle, the odds are on the horse. But even the best may fail What are the prospects for the Chinese economy? Few, if any,… Continue reading China
The Wall Street Journal – IRS Says Bitcoin Is Property, Not Currency The Internal Revenue Service said Tuesday that it will treat bitcoin and other virtual currencies like property, not currency, giving a potential boost to investors but imposing extensive record-keeping rules—and significant taxes—on its use. The announcement in general was expected to be greeted… Continue reading IRS Says Bitcoin Is Property, Not A Currency
The Wall Street Journal – Business Economists See First Fed Hike Coming By June 2015 Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen caught some investors off guard last week when she signaled the central bank’s first move to raise interest rates in years could come in early 2015. But that timeframe jibes with the forecasts of many… Continue reading When Will The Fed Hike?
CNBC – Fed’s Plosser: Market reaction to the Fed statement was surprising Philadelphia Fed President Charles Plosser told CNBC on Tuesday he found the market’s reaction the last week’s Fed statement surprising and that the Fed did not change its position on interest rates. A noted hawk on the Fed’s largely dovish board, Plosser said… Continue reading Plosser’s Dot Revealed