BusinessWeek – The World’s Biggest Mutual Fund Takes a $41 Billion Hit With investors anticipating the end of the Federal Reserve’s stimulus program, the biggest mutual fund in the world, Pimco’s Total Return Fund, took a $41 billion hit over the past four months after losses and withdrawals, according to Morningstar. The $292 billion fund… Continue reading Pimco’s Total Return Fund Takes A Big Hit
The New York Times – European Central Bank Chief Tamps Down Optimism Mario Draghi’s remarks, made after the bank held rates steady, were unexpectedly pessimistic and could dampen hopes that the euro zone is finally on the mend. The president of the European Central Bank issued a sober assessment of the euro zone economy, saying… Continue reading Draghi Speaks
<Click on chart for larger image> The Wall Street Journal – J.P. Morgan to End Student-Loan Business Bank to Halt New Loans to Existing Customers The market for student loans suffered another blow on Thursday when J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., the nation’s largest lender by assets, said it is getting out of the business.… Continue reading J.P. Morgan Is Going To Stop Lending To Students
The Wall Street Journal – Financial Crisis Anniversary: For Corporations and Investors, Debt Makes a Comeback Looking back, J. Russell Porter said his company was “almost at death’s door” when the U.S. economy hit bottom. With credit markets near frozen, he said, Gastar Exploration in 2009 couldn’t find banks or investors willing to provide the… Continue reading Risk Is Back!
The Economist – Global finance: Where’s the next Lehman? Five years after the maelstrom of September 2008, global finance is safer. But still not safe enough THE bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers, an American investment bank, in 2008 turned a nasty credit crunch into the worst financial crisis in 80 years. Massive bail-outs from governments and… Continue reading Where’s Lehman 2.0?
The Economist – Raghuram Rajan joins the RBI: Into the pressure cooker Take one famous economist. Put him in charge of an emerging-market central bank. Bring to the boil Few doubt Mr Rajan’s brilliance, but some query his credentials for the RBI job. He was born in India but is known as a star economist,… Continue reading Raghuram Rajan
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The Financial Times – US Fed’s last chance to assess labour market before QE decision The US Federal Reserve will get one more jobs report before it has to assess whether the goal of its third round of quantitative easing – a substantial improvement in the outlook for the labour market – has been met.… Continue reading A Preview Of Tomorrow’s Payroll Release
<Click on chart for larger image> Bloomberg.com – Jobless Claims in U.S. Decline More Than Forecast ewer Americans than forecast filed applications for unemployment benefits last week, indicating the labor market is improving. Jobless claims declined by 9,000 to 323,000 in the week ended Aug. 31, less than the lowest estimate of economists surveyed by… Continue reading The Confusing Data In The Jobs Market
The New York Times – In Fed Succession, Obama’s Favorite Faces Opposition Mr. Obama, well aware of Mr. Summers’s love-him-or-hate-him reputation and the trouble he could face winning Senate confirmation, reasoned that it was hardly too soon to think about courting senators, even if a final decision on a nominee was nearly a year off.… Continue reading Your Daily Installment On Yellen vs. Summers
MoneyBeat (WSJ Blog) – Could The Fed’s Taper Prove Inflationary? Could the Federal Reserve’s decision to slow the pace at which it provides the economy with new liquidity–the so-called taper–force up global inflation? Paradoxical as this seems, there are a couple of mechanisms by which it can happen. In emerging markets, the inflationary taper effect… Continue reading Could The Taper Create Inflation?