<Click on chart for larger image> Reuters.com – Italy to outline youth jobs plan as government struggles Italy’s new government, already sinking in opinion polls and riven by internal disputes, on Wednesday lays out its plans to address one of the main causes of public anger – soaring unemployment among young people. But the left-right… Continue reading Jobs In Italy
The Financial Times – Markets Insight: Central bankers turn deaf ear on balance sheets The US case is different. There the recent rise in Treasury yields has reflected growing speculation that a staged withdrawal from unconventional central banking measures may come sooner than expected. If the dollar is stronger, it is no longer because it… Continue reading Central Bankers Ignore Booming Balance Sheets
<Click on chart for larger image> Reuters.com – Bank of Japan vows market steps to curb bond turbulence The Bank of Japan vowed on Wednesday to take necessary steps to reduce volatility in bond markets that has threatened to jeopardize the government’s fight to end deflation and revive growth. The central bank upgraded its assessment… Continue reading Japan
The Street – Cramer: Running Head-On Into 1929 But if we have an up day Tuesday, and we make it 19 straight, I think that it will do more to drive people away than it will to bring them in. These days, that kind of streak makes people nervous, not confident. Like it or not,… Continue reading More On Stock Market Gains On Tuesdays – 19 In a Row
<Click on chart for larger image> The Financial Times – US money market funds warm to eurozone US money market funds have stepped up their exposure to eurozone banks after shrugging off Italy’s political difficulties and Europe’s mishandling of the Cyprus crisis. The exposure of US prime money market funds was 14 per cent higher… Continue reading Money Market Funds’ European Exposure Increases
Reuters – What to expect from Bernanke testimony and Fed minutes this week Financial markets this will be keenly focused on congressional testimony from Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke and minutes from the central bank’s April 30-May 1 meeting, particularly given a thin data calendar. The latter may be the more interesting one, since it will… Continue reading Why Bernanke’s Testimony Tomorrow Matters More Than Usual
The Wall Street Journal – What’s Holding Back Hiring? In a new paper published by the National Bureau of Economic Research, University of Wisconsin economist (and blogger) Menzie Chinn and French economists Laurent Ferrara and Valerie Mignon also look at the relationship between economic growth and the job market. But rather than focus on unemployment,… Continue reading Where Are The Jobs?
<Click on chart for larger image> CNBC – Are Treasurys Falling Out of Favor With China? Reports that China may step up the diversification of its huge foreign exchange reserves is not great news for U.S. Treasurys, already under pressure from talk about an easing in the Federal Reserve’s bond-buying program. But, the fall-out from… Continue reading Will China Stop Buying Treasuries?
The Wall Street Journal – IMF Tells Central Europe to Spend More The International Monetary Fund is recommending short-term stimulus for much of Central Europe, where economies are going through their roughest patch in years and the recession in the euro zone has dampened hopes for a quick recovery. In the region, Czech Republic’s economy… Continue reading The End of Austerity (Did It Ever Really Happen)?
<Click on chart for larger image> Bloomberg.com – Junk Stocks Spur Broadest Equity Advance Since 1995 The most-indebted U.S. companies are rallying more than any time in almost four years compared with the rest of the stock market amid the broadest rally since at least 1995. Federal Reserve interest rates near zero and the expanding… Continue reading Junk vs. Stocks
Bloomberg.com – U.S. Faces Downgrade in 2013 Without Budget Deal, Moody’s Warns U.S. policy makers must address debt loads projected to rise later this decade to avoid a 2013 downgrade, even as the latest budget projections are “credit positive,” according to Moody’s Investors Service. The U.S. budget deficit will drop to $378 billion in 2015… Continue reading A US Downgrade Coming?