The Telegraph (UK) – Ben Traynor: Roosevelt’s gold confiscation: could it happen again? FDR forcibly purchased American investors’ bullion during the Great Depression. After Cyprus, could confiscations catch on again? Following 6102, Roosevelt was able to devalue the dollar against gold by raising the gold price, eventually to $35, something the government could do as… Continue reading Gold Confiscation
CNBC – Yen Selling May Become an ‘Avalanche,’ Soros Says The policy measures taken in Japan to revive economic growth are “quite dangerous,” billionaire investor George Soros told CNBC in an interview on Friday. … “What Japan is doing is actually quite dangerous because they are doing it after 25 years of just simply accumulating… Continue reading Skepticism About The BoJ’s Move
<Click on chart for larger image> Bloomberg Businessweek – Spanish Pension Fund Profits From Draghi After Rajoy Raid Spain’s pension reserve-fund ramped up its holdings of domestic debt last year, profiting from a rally across southern Europe and making it easier for Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy to raid the fund to finance his budget. The… Continue reading Spain’s Public Pension Funds
Comment You don’t need to understand Japanese to know the chart Kuroda is referring to is the goal of every central bank balance sheet around the world. Reuters – BOJ’s Kuroda: monetary onslaught won’t cause asset bubbles Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda played down concerns his unprecedented burst of monetary stimulus would create asset-price… Continue reading More On The BoJ’s Move
CNBC – ‘Loose Cannon’ Yellen as Fed Chief Scares Market: Janjuah Global markets are riding a “high” on central bank money printing, but a change at the top of the Federal Reserve posed the biggest threat to the rally, Bob Janjuah, Nomura’s uber-bearish strategist, told CNBC on Friday. Janjuah said Janet Yellen, Fed vice-chairman since… Continue reading Janet Yellen – Karl Marx’s Central Banker
The Wall Street Journal – MF Global Trustee’s Report Blasts Former CEO Corzine A risky business strategy as well as “negligent conduct” by former Chief Executive Officer Jon S. Corzine and his management team contributed to the unraveling of MF Global Holdings Ltd., a new report said Thursday. The report, released by Louis J. Freeh,… Continue reading Jon Corzine
Economist – Betting the house Lessons from America’s long history of property booms On sensible reckoning, for example, agricultural land in Alabama was a steal in the 1810s. Cotton production on Alabama farmland was highly productive, and cotton prices were surging on demand from British textile manufacturers. In 1817 land sold at about $35 per… Continue reading Past Property Bubbles
The Economist – Trimmed hedges Best not rely too much on that glowing track record INVESTORS are perennially warned that a fund’s past performance is no guarantee of future returns. This is little use to those keen to invest in hedge funds, which seldom disclose more than their track records. A new study finds that… Continue reading Hedge Funds
Comment Jim Bianco was Bloomberg TV discussing market timing. To view the interview, click on the image above. To view any of our recent interviews click here.
Business Insider – Bernanke’s Fans Will Find This Frustrating, And His Haters Will Find This Terrifying 1. One wonders whether Bernanke, in his heart, would preferred a far more aggressive and consistent bond-buying program the past four years. If so, did he refrain because he felt the Fed lacked the political capital with Congress to… Continue reading Monetary Policy
Real Time Economics (WSJ Blog) – Job Growth Slowdown Likely to Reverse The job market is getting better. But at least by one key measure, it’s getting better more slowly. As the Wall Street Journal notes, the year-over-year pace of job growth has slowed over the past year. From February 2011 to February 2012, nonfarm… Continue reading Employment Figures