The Atlantic – If Hedge Funders Are So Smart, Why Are They So Relentlessly Wrong? Hedge funders think they’re smart enough to fight the Fed. They aren’t. There’s nothing more dangerous than knowing a little economics. Just ask hedge funders. The past four years have been a great time for investors, but not for hedge… Continue reading Hedge Funds
Real Time Economics (WSJ Blog) – Total World Debt Load at 313% of GDP $223.3 trillion: The total indebtedness of the world, including all parts of the public and private sectors, amounting to 313% of global gross domestic product. Advanced economies tend to draw attention for their debt at the government and household levels. But… Continue reading World Debt To GDP
The Washington Post – Meet Dylan, the day trader I first recall seeing Dylan Collins years ago on the basketball court of my son’s junior high school, 6-feet-plus of gangly adolescence with a wild head of hair and an easy, impish grin. Among my son and his friends at the Georgetown Day School, any mention… Continue reading The Return Of The Day Trader
Bloomberg.com – Fed in 2008 Showed Panic of 1907 Was Excessive: Cutting Research An analysis by San Francisco Fed economists Early Elias and Oscar Jorda found that if there had been a central bank during the financial panic of 1907 to lower interest rates as much as the Fed did during the 2008 turmoil, the… Continue reading Imaginary Research
Comment Jim Bianco was on Bloomberg TV discussing the S&P 500’s P/E ratio, the Federal Reserve and the economy. To view the interview click on the image above. To view any of our recent interviews click here. This interview is a continuation of yesterday’s comments. The New York Times – Paul Krugman: Bernanke, Blower of… Continue reading Is the Market Overvalued?
Reuters.com – Fed’s credibility tested as inflation drifts below target With the inflation rate about half of the Federal Reserve’s 2.0 percent target, the central bank is facing a major test and some experts wonder whether it will eventually need to ramp up its already aggressive bond buying program. The Fed cut official interest rates… Continue reading What Does The Taylor Rule Tell Us?
Bloomberg.com – Bernanke Warns of ‘Important Risks’ in Wholesale Funding Markets Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said risks persist in wholesale funding markets used frequently by Wall Street brokers to finance securities trading. “Important risks remain in the short-term wholesale funding markets,” Bernanke said today in the text of a speech at a Chicago… Continue reading Bernanke Speaks, Forgets About The Federal Reserve’s Balance Sheet
The Economist – Securities lending: Spring break A practice which underpins swathes of the financial system faces turmoil This points to a hazard inherent to securities lending: your counterparty has to be around to return what it has borrowed from you. Industry boosters say any risk is mitigated by stringent collateral requirements: borrowers have to… Continue reading Securities Lending
The Wall Street Journal – Falling Deficit Alters Debate Improving Federal Finances Lessen Pressure on Democrats, Republicans to Negotiate Rising government revenue from tax collections and bailout paybacks are shrinking the federal deficit faster than expected, delaying the point when the government will reach the so-called debt ceiling and altering the budget debate in Washington.… Continue reading The Deficit Shrinks
The Economist – Investment banks: Wall Street is back American investment banks dominate global finance once more. That’s not necessarily good for America FOR a few tense weeks in 2008, as investment-bank executives huddled behind the imposing doors of the New York Federal Reserve, Wall Street seemed to be collapsing around them. Lehman Brothers filed… Continue reading A Cover For Contrarians
Bloomberg.com – Central Banks Keep Easing After Cuts Fail to Spur Growth “Most central banks in our coverage universe still have a bias to ease,” Morgan Stanley economists led by London-based Joachim Fels said in a report to clients yesterday. “Given this disposition, it doesn’t take much in terms of downside surprises in growth or… Continue reading World Central Banks – 513 And Counting