<Click on chart for larger image> Bloomberg.com – Caroline Baum: Fed Is Shooting at a Moving Target A threshold is only as good as the sum of its moving parts. At his news conference in June, Fed chief Ben Bernanke said that if the economic data were consistent with the forecast, a tapering of monthly… Continue reading More On The Federal Reserve And The Unemployment Rate
<Click on chart for larger image> The Financial Times – Gold: the Fed and miners Can you be a gold bear, but a gold stock bull? Gold dropped to four-month lows after the minutes of the Federal Reserve’s last meeting recorded a lot of talk about tapering. Gold stocks, led by Australia’s gold miners, followed… Continue reading Gold Falls
The Financial Times – Bubble fears as US stocks break records Markets have left milestones for dust. US stock prices are enjoying their best year since 1997, with investors apparently untroubled by the backdrop of a lacklustre economy and high unemployment. The S&P 500 has barrelled through three century marks this year alone, from below… Continue reading Bubble Talk
Bloomberg.com – Pimco Sees Treasury 10-Year Yield Capped Around 3% as Taper Near Pacific Investment Management Co. predicts Treasury 10-year yields will be capped near 3 percent into 2015 even with the Federal Reserve beginning to trim asset purchases as early as January. The manager of the world’s biggest bond fund expects the Fed to… Continue reading PIMCO Discusses The 10-Year
The Financial Times – France in Fed taper line of fire French bonds could sell off sharply if US yields rise When France’s weak economy and public finances are panned by international critics, its politicians have an easy riposte: just look at our bond yields. Paris can borrow at lower costs than London, and the… Continue reading France
The Financial Times – Bank of Japan hints at extending ultra-loose monetary policy But addressing reporters hours later, Mr Kuroda said that the BoJ “would not hesitate” to take further measures if the economy stopped moving in line with its projections. The bank “has room to act against upside and downside risks”, he said. The… Continue reading Japan May Extend Loose Monetary Policy
Charts of the Week Topics Covered This Week Include: The Fed Continues To Push Its Preference For Levels Over Flows QE and The Stock Market An Updated Look At The Stock/Bond Relationship S&P 500 Earnings Update Operating Earnings China & Japan Increase Their U.S. Treasury Holdings Chinese Reform An Updated Look At Credit Mutual Fund… Continue reading Charts of the Week
Reuters – Fed’s Yellen: Policy to stay easy after threshold crossed U.S. monetary policy will probably remain very easy for a long while even after either the Federal Reserve’s interest rate hike threshold on lower unemployment, or inflation, has been crossed, Fed Vice Chair Janet Yellen said in a letter to a U.S. lawmaker. Yellen… Continue reading The Fed Continues To Push Its Preference For Levels Over Flows
Real Time Economics – Jon Hilsenrath: How Would Fed Deal With Debt Ceiling Crisis? Look to Minutes for Clues Federal Reserve officials could provide some clarity on how they might handle a debt ceiling crisis when they release minutes of their October policy meeting Wednesday. The policy meeting happened just after the standoff between congressional… Continue reading The FOMC Minutes
Real Time Economics (WSJ Blog) – Bernanke: Lower Remittances to Treasury a Mere Footnote to Bond Program Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke tried to allay concerns that the central bank will stop remitting its profits to the Treasury once interest rates start to rise, a development that could cause a political backlash. The Congressional Budget… Continue reading Federal Reserve Profitability
Bloomberg.com – Evans Says Bond Buying May Total More Than $1.5 Trillion Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago President Charles Evans, a voter on policy this year, said the Fed may buy a total of $1.5 trillion in bonds in a program that started in January 2013 to ensure steady employment gains. “Given the current conditions,… Continue reading Charlie Evans Wants To Increase Latest Round Of QE To $1.5 Trillion