Bloomberg.com – CEO Profit Skepticism Supports Weak Estimates for Stocks For every company predicting in January that earnings will beat analyst estimates, 2.5 are projecting results that fall short, matching the worst ratio since the rally began in March 2009, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. While analysts say Standard & Poor’s 500 Index profits… Continue reading Profit Warnings
<Click on chart for a larger image> Bloomberg – IMF Raises Global Outlook as Advanced Nations Accelerate The International Monetary Fund raised its forecast for global growth this year as expansions in the U.S. and U.K. accelerate, and urged advanced economies to maintain monetary accommodation to strengthen the recovery. The global economy will grow 3.7… Continue reading Just In Time For Davos – The IMF Updates Its Inaccurate Growth Forecast
The Wall Street Journal – Stores Confront New World of Reduced Shopper Traffic E-Commerce Not Only Siphons Off Sales, but Changes Shopping Habits But there is a deeper malaise at work: A long-term change in shopper habits has reduced store traffic—perhaps permanently—and shifted pricing power away from malls and big-box retailers. Consumers’ rush to e-commerce… Continue reading Is Retailing The Next Newspaper Industry?
Real Time Economics – Could Bernanke Land at Brookings After the Fed? The stars could be aligning for Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke to join the Brookings Institution after his term ends at the end of the month. Mr. Bernanke was the featured speaker at an event sponsored by Brookings last week, his last public… Continue reading What Will Bernanke Do After His Term Ends?
Bloomberg.com – Geithner Said U.S. Would Respond to Downgrade, S&P Says S&P filed a declaration of McGraw yesterday in federal court in Santa Ana, California, as part of a request to force the U.S. to hand over potential evidence the company says will support its claim that the government filed a fraud lawsuit against it… Continue reading Geithner Speaks About A U.S. Downgrade
The Telegraph (UK) – The ‘too big to fail’ problem just got worse Far from imposing a leverage ratio of 5pc, 10pc or even 15pc, the Basel committee continues to propose a leverage ratio of just 3pc – only slightly above that displayed by the UK banking industry just before the last collapse Last Friday,… Continue reading Banks In The U.K.
APP.com – SAMUELSON: Can bitcoin change the way we do business? The baffling Bitcoin boom is either an exercise in self-delusion — a high-tech Ponzi scheme that will come crashing down — or an imaginative new Internet technology that will ultimately change how millions of people around the world conduct everyday business. Called a “digital… Continue reading Will Bitcoin Change Business?
Forbes – Wall Street’s secret society is more secretive than ever On Thursday night, Kappa Beta Phi, a secret society of Wall Street bigwigs, held its 82nd annual gala at the St. Regis Hotel in Manhattan. At these black-tie dinners, around 200 of the biggest names in finance carry on like fraternity kids, hurling insults… Continue reading Wall Street’s Secret Society
Comment Yesterday Jim Bianco hosted a conference call titled Outlook For 2014. Below are links for the audio, webcast and handout. Audio [audio:https://www.biancoresearch.com/bianco/SubscriberArea/011614.mp3|titles=Conference Call ] [hana-flv-player video=”https://www.biancoresearch.com/bianco/SubscriberArea/011614.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” /] [pageview class=”PDFViewer” url=”https://www.biancoresearch.com/bianco/wp-content/plugins/PDFViewer/plugin.php?id=169″] Some notes from the webcast: Fed started taper because it got “QE Fatigue”: worried it… Continue reading Conference Call: Outlook For 2014
<Click on chart for larger image> Bloomberg.com – China’s Treasury Holdings Climb to Record in Government Data China’s holdings of U.S. Treasuries increased $12.2 billion to a record $1.317 trillion in November, data released on the Treasury Department’s website showed. The figures, scheduled for release at 9 a.m. tomorrow in Washington, were inadvertently posted on… Continue reading China And The Fed’s Holdings of Treasuries
Bloomberg.com – Bernanke Says QE Works While Posing No Immediate Bubble Risk Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke defended quantitative easing, saying it has helped the economy and shows no immediate sign of creating a bubble in asset prices. “We don’t think that financial stability concerns should at this point detract from the need for… Continue reading Bernanke Hopes The Fed Did The Right Thing