MarketWatch – ‘Weather’ gets 119 mentions in Beige Book There were 119 mentions of the word “weather” in the Beige Book published by the Federal Reserve on Wednesday. The Beige Book is a collection of anecdotes about the economy, gathered ahead of an interest-rate meeting. Economists are hotly debating the extent of the bad weather’s… Continue reading How Does One Become An Expert Economist? Say “Weather”
The Financial Times – US feels the chill of more weak jobs data Fears are rising of another weak payrolls report this Friday as the long, cold winter in parts of the country puts a freeze on the US economy. Data from payrolls processor ADP showed the creation of just 139,000 private sector jobs in… Continue reading January Payrolls
Zacks.com – Earnings Season in Final Stretch Our overall verdict on the Q4 earnings season is that it was no better or worse than what we have been seeing in the last few quarters. In some respects, the Q4 earnings season was an improvement over the recent past. Specifically, total earnings for the S&P 500… Continue reading One Final Q4 2013 Earnings Season Update
CNBC – Fed’s Plosser ‘very worried’ about QE consequences Philadelphia Federal Reserve President Charles Plosser is “very worried” about the potential for unintended consequences of the Fed’s massive quantitative easing program. Plosser told CNBC that the U.S. was still suffering from “lasting effects” of the recession and “may never return” to its previous growth rates… Continue reading Worry About QE
The Financial Times – Merits of Bank of England’s QE still spark debate five years on The most extraordinary experiment in the Bank of England’s 300-year history marked its fifth birthday on Wednesday, with British output still languishing 1.4 per cent below its pre-crisis peak. The Bank of England showed it had the ammunition to… Continue reading Debating QE In England
Bloomberg.com – IMF Said to Demand Greater Say on Greek Banks in ECB Wrangle The International Monetary Fund wants a greater say in the fate of Greek banks because it’s worried that the European Central Bank is being too lenient on them, three people with knowledge of the matter said. The IMF views an analysis… Continue reading The ECB & IMF Face Off Over Greece
Real Time Economics (WSJ Blog) – Fed Musical Chairs to Produce Same Old Song The Senate Banking Committee’s postponement of a confirmation hearing on three Federal Reserve board nominees means the board will very likely have just four voting governors at the central bank’s policy meeting in two weeks, instead of the customary seven. The… Continue reading Fed Confirmations
The Wall Street Journal – New Lenders Spring Up to Cater to Subprime Sector A crop of new lenders is jumping into the subprime personal-loan market, wooing consumers with flawed credit who have been neglected since the financial crisis. Many lenders backed away from borrowers with poor credit histories after record defaults on subprime home… Continue reading The Return Of Subprime
Charts of the Week Topics Covered This Week Include: Mutual Funds Earnings Is It A Good Idea For The Fed To Take Over The Repo Market? Some Perspective On Russian Holdings Of Treasuries The Fed’s Evolving Unemployment Rate Russia/Ukraine Update S&P 500 1 & 10 Year Total Returns Gold Updated Look At Investor Intelligence Credit… Continue reading Charts of the Week
Audio [audio:https://www.biancoresearch.com/bianco/SubscriberArea/newsclips/2014/03/s71cc774.mp3|titles=Bloomberg interview] Comment Jim Bianco says the decline in the U.S. Treasury 10-year note yield is likely to continue especially if signs of labor market weakness emerge in the February employment report on Friday. He says the yield could dip below 2.5% if the economic slowdown of the past two months proves to be… Continue reading Discussing Payrolls And Bonds
RIA Novosti – Putin Adviser Urges Dumping US Bonds In Reaction to Sanctions An adviser to Russian President Vladimir Putin said Tuesday that authorities would issue general advice to dump US government bonds in the event of Russian companies and individuals being targeted by sanctions over events in Ukraine. Sergei Glazyev said the United States… Continue reading Some Perspective On Russian Holdings Of U.S. Treasuries