The Wall Street Journal – Regulators Get Banks to Rein In Bonus Pay U.S. banks are bowing to regulators’ concerns about the size of executive pay and its role in financial industry risk-taking. Seven large U.S. financial-services firms, including PNC Financial Services Group, PNC +0.28%Capital One Financial Corp., and Discover Financial Services Inc., said they… Continue reading Banker’s Pay
Real-Time Economics (WSJ Blog) – Justin Lahart: Why Does Financial Innovation Sometimes Make System Riskier? Financial innovation gives investors new tools for diversifying portfolios and sharing risks, so it should make markets safer. But the theory that new financial products will make markets less dangerous doesn’t always stand up. The 2008 financial collapse taught us… Continue reading Financial Innovation
Bloomberg.com – Paris Hit by Property Freeze as Taxes Deter Buyers At least one in four Paris apartments listed by realtor Agence Etoile can’t be sold, even with mortgage rates at record lows, as buyers and sellers fail to agree on price, the company’s director said. I have some inventory that’s too expensive and sellers… Continue reading World Home Markets Mixed
<Click on chart for larger image> The Financial Times – Gold: Losing its charm? The collapse in the gold price has sent a ripple of alarm through the investment world. After 10 years of rising prices, gold investing is no longer the preserve of a few specialists and coin collectors, but a mainstream interest of… Continue reading Gold
CNBC – Earnings Results Are Flashing Warning for Stocks Just two weeks into the first-quarter earnings season, a greater-than-usual number of companies have reported disappointing revenue results and tepid guidance, leading strategists to expect a more volatile time for stocks. “That is for sure not a formula for success against a weak economic backdrop over… Continue reading Earnings Season Beating A Very Low Bar
Bloomberg.com – Bernanke Jackson Hole Absence Contrasts With Greenspan Adulation When former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan was set to retire, his final appearance in 2005 at the Fed’s annual symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, became a celebration of his legacy. By contrast, his successor, Ben S. Bernanke, will be skipping the final Jackson Hole… Continue reading Bernanke’s Legacy
The Financial Times – Data shift to lift US economy 3% The US economy will officially become 3 per cent bigger in July as part of a shake-up that will see government statistics take into account 21st century components such as film royalties and spending on research and development. Billions of dollars of intangible assets… Continue reading Measuring GDP
<Click on chart for larger image> Barron’s – RANDALL W. FORSYTH: A Deflationary Wave Commodities send a deflationary signal that’s being corroborated by TIPS — the Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities. Keep calm and carry on. Once again, the British byword from World War II would be invoked in a week following the unspeakable acts in Boston… Continue reading The Return Of Deflation?
The New York Times – Before Housing Bubbles, There Was Land Fever SINCE 1997, we have lived through the biggest real estate bubble in United States history — followed by the most calamitous decline in housing prices that the country has ever seen. Fundamental factors like inflation and construction costs affect home prices, of course.… Continue reading The Housing Boom/Bust Cycle
Barron’s – Dow 16,000 Our latest Big Money poll shows record levels of bullishness among America’s money managers, despite concerns about the U.S. economy, Federal Reserve policy, and Europe’s financial mess. The stock market isn’t the only thing that has set records this spring. Barron’s semiannual Big Money poll of professional investors also is setting… Continue reading Dow 16,000
The Wall Street Journal – Stock Rally Strikes a Defensive Tone In this year’s stock-market rally, defense has been the best form of offense. Typically, a big rally will be led by so-called cyclical stocks such as energy and industrial shares, which are tied more closely to economic growth. But this time around, the best-performing… Continue reading Which Sectors Have Carried This Rally?