Tim Duy’s Fed Watch – Desperate to Taper The minutes of the October FOMC meeting leave little doubt that the Fed increasingly desires to end the asset purchase program, enough so to contemplate tapering regardless of seeing satisfactory improvement in labor markets. It is that desire – or perhaps desperation – that puts an element… Continue reading The Fed’s Exit Strategy
Real Time Economics (WSJ Blog) – NY Fed: Dealers, Ahead of October FOMC, Saw Spring Taper Likely Ahead of the Federal Reserve‘s monetary policy meeting in October, Wall Street’s biggest financial firms told the central bank they were gravitating toward expecting a cut in the Fed’s easy-money policies in the spring of 2014. According to… Continue reading Timing The Taper
USA Today – Stocks: Optimism up, and so is risk of big drop In the wacky contrarian world of Wall Street, when investors get too optimistic, it’s usually a sign that stocks are setting up for a fall. Ned Davis, senior investment strategist at Ned Davis Research, says sentiment is bullish enough for him to… Continue reading Stock Market Exuberance
Zero Hedge (Blog) – Einhorn: “Fed Policy Is A Headwind To The Economy” David Einhorn begins his discussion on the market warning that “certain aspects of the market are very much in bubble,” with investors “dismissing valuation metrics.” “The market is confused,” between useful products and real profit streams, he suggests for a number of… Continue reading QE Haters
Politico – Debt ceiling deadline pushed back Members of Congress received word Wednesday that they will have some breathing room next year on raising the debt limit. Though Congress agreed in October to hike the nation’s borrowing authority through Feb. 7, the Treasury Department’s use of extraordinary measures will likely give lawmakers an additional month… Continue reading Sizing Up The Next Debt Ceiling Fight
Real Time Economics (WSJ Blog) – Fed’s Bullard: Rush To Zero Percent Funds Rate May Have Been Mistake Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis President James Bullard said Thursday the central bank’s rush to cut interest rates over the course of 2008 may have unwittingly consigned the nation to many years of zero percent short… Continue reading Bullard & The Portfolio Balance Theory
The Financial Times – Money funds at risk of big drop in assets Global money market funds are projected to lose around a third of their assets under management next year as the combined forces of record low interest rates and new regulations batter the multi-trillion dollar industry. Incoming rules from regulators in the US… Continue reading Money Market Funds
The Wall Street Journal – U.S. to Sell Rest of GM Stake by Year-End After five years, four chief executives, and one of the largest bankruptcies in U.S. history, the government is poised to sell its remaining stake in General Motors Co. The move will close the books on—but not the debate over—one of the… Continue reading Goodbye Government Motors
Bloomberg.com – Americans Recover Home Equity at Record Pace The number of Americans who owe more on their mortgages than their homes are worth fell at the fastest pace on record in the third quarter as prices rose, a sign supply shortages may ease as more owners are able to sell. The percentage of homes… Continue reading Underwater Mortgages
[pageview class=”PDFViewer” url=”https://www.biancoresearch.com/bianco/wp-content/plugins/PDFViewer/plugin.php?id=160″] The Wall Street Journal – Fed Casts About for Endgame on Easy-Money Policy They left unchanged their promise to not raise short-term rates at least until the jobless rate falls below 6.5% as long as inflation isn’t expected to rise above 2.5%, paired with additional assurances that even after the jobless rate… Continue reading FOMC Minutes: Expect Low Rates For A Very Long Time
The Financial Times – Robin Harding: ‘Fedspeak’ points to bank reserves idea When the Fed buys assets under its programme of quantitative easing, it pays for them by creating reserves. As a result, banks have piled up almost $2.5tn in their reserve accounts at the Fed. The Fed currently offers interest of 0.25 percentage points… Continue reading Is The Fed Planning To Cut Interest On Reserves?