MarketWatch – Nouriel Roubini — a.k.a. ‘Dr. Doom’ — is getting optimistic Is it time to retire the “Dr. Doom” moniker for Nouriel Roubini? The respected New York University economist has made it clear that he’s not fond of the nickname (he thinks “Dr. Realist” has better ring to it). He’s certainly been pivoting toward… Continue reading Nouriel Roubini Is Bullish!
The Economist – The world economy in 2014: Why optimism may be bad news Good news about global growth risks pushing interest rates up and politicians’ appetite for reform down ALMOST every year since the end of the financial crisis has started with rosy expectations among American forecasters, and this one is no different. Stockmarkets… Continue reading Overly Optimistic Growth Forecasts
The Economist – The European Central Bank: Unpalatable choices Keeping deflation at bay may involve controversial new policies this year Such worries about negative rates might lead the ECB to consider the third option. Quantitative easing would help to stave off deflation by lowering long-term interest rates and shoring up the money supply, which is… Continue reading Deflationary Concerns In Europe
The Financial Times – Return of inflation is inevitable says Aronstein Markets are underestimating a coming rout in bond prices, and missing early signs of the return of inflation, according to the US mutual fund manager who has raised more money than any other in the past year. Investors have put billions of dollars behind… Continue reading Inflationary Concerns In The US
Project Syndicate – George Soros: The World Economy’s Shifting Challenges As 2013 comes to a close, efforts to revive growth in the world’s most influential economies – with the exception of the eurozone – are having a beneficial effect worldwide. All of the looming problems for the global economy are political in character. After 25… Continue reading Soros Offers His Opinion On The Global Economy
The Wall Street Journal – Labor Department Panel Calls for Ending Lockup for Jobs Data First Formal Charge to Alter Practice of Releasing Numbers to Media A Labor Department panel has called for abandoning media lockups for a key weekly measure of U.S. employment. The recommendation is the first formal call by a government entity… Continue reading Media May No Longer Get Jobs Data Early
The Financial Times – Lex: Fannie/Freddie: price and principle Private money in the mortgage market will mean higher rates Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the mortgage guarantors that are now wards of the US government, announced plans in December to increase fees for some of the mortgages they back, hoping to replicate what private insurers… Continue reading Fannie & Freddie
Charts of the Week Topics Covered This Week Include: Mutual Fund Flows Mutual Fund Flows – 2 A Look At ETF Assets A Look At ETF Assets – 2 Is Housing In A Bubble? Horrible Year For Gold Everyone Is Bullish Claims Data The Return Of The Debt Cliff Reverse Repos More Trouble Transporting Crude… Continue reading Charts of the Week
<Click on chart for larger image> CNBC – Housing market could be facing another bubble: Shiller The U.S. housing market could be in the early stages of yet another bubble, warned Robert Shiller, co-founder of the Case-Shiller index. “In the housing market, it has its own momentum right now as people see it coming back.… Continue reading Is Housing In Another Bubble?
From left: Haruhiko Kuroda, governor of the Bank of Japan; Mario Draghi, president of the European Central Bank; and Janet Yellen, the presumptive successor to Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke The Wall Street Journal – As 2014 Dawns, Fortunes Hinge on Central Bankers Investors See Little to Shift Attention Away From Monetary Policy The new… Continue reading Central Banks In 2014
<Click on chart for larger image> Bloomberg Businessweek – How Everyone Missed Gold’s Big 2013 Plunge Here’s a Bloomberg News headline that no one saw coming: “Gold Bulls Retrench as Price Drops Most in 32 Years.” One year ago, analysts surveyed by Bloomberg had a median price target of $1,815 an ounce for the end… Continue reading Gold