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Cyprus Ignores Deposit Insurance With Tax On Deposits

March 18, 2013

The Wall Street Journal – Cyprus Prepares New Deposit-Tax Proposal Cyprus is preparing a new proposal for its prospective international lenders that will ease the pain of an extraordinary deposit tax for smaller depositors, two European officials with knowledge of the situation said Monday. The new proposal will aim to raise €5.8 billion ($7.6 billion),… Continue reading Cyprus Ignores Deposit Insurance With Tax On Deposits

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Evaluating The State Of Capitalism

March 18, 2013

The Financial Times – Why capitalism remains in rude health Economic systems should be measured by their results. And in terms of growth in gross domestic product, the charts show that capitalism remains in rude health. Global GDP rose throughout the crisis. That was thanks to the rise of the developing world, which will this… Continue reading Evaluating The State Of Capitalism

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The Stalemate Continues On Budget Negotiations

March 18, 2013

Bloomberg.com – Obama Meetings Didn’t Ease Budget Standoff, Boehner Says The fight between Democrats and Republicans over how to address the nation’s fiscal health continues even after a week of meetings between President Barack Obama and Republicans on Capitol Hill, House Speaker John Boehner said. “It’s always a good thing to engage in more conversation,”… Continue reading The Stalemate Continues On Budget Negotiations

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Replacing LIBOR

March 18, 2013

Reuters – Central banks want Libor replaced with several rates The tarnished Libor interest rate benchmark should be replaced with a range of reference rates based on actual market transactions by banks, a global group of central bankers said on Monday. Barclays, Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) and UBS have all been fined for rigging… Continue reading Replacing LIBOR

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Are You Sitting Down? … A Bullish Story On Treasuries!

March 18, 2013

Bloomberg.com – Hedge Funds Build Treasury Bets to ’07 High in Bear Rebuke Hedge funds are the most bullish on 10-year Treasuries since 2007, betting the U.S. economy is too fragile for the Federal Reserve to stop buying bonds even as the jobless rate drops to the lowest in four years and household wealth climbs.… Continue reading Are You Sitting Down? … A Bullish Story On Treasuries!

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Getting Bullish Gold

March 18, 2013

Bloomberg.com – Bullish Bets Jump Most Since July as Gold Rebounds Investors increased wagers on a commodity rally by the most in eight months as signs of a U.S. economic recovery bolstered the outlook for demand and drove rallies in crude oil, cotton, copper and gold. Hedge funds and other large speculators raised net-long positions… Continue reading Getting Bullish Gold

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Wash Trades

March 18, 2013

The Wall Street Journal – ‘Wash Trades’ Scrutinized U.S. regulators are investigating whether high-frequency traders are routinely distorting stock and futures markets by illegally acting as buyer and seller in the same transactions, according to people familiar with the probes. Such transactions, known as wash trades, are banned by U.S. law because they can feed… Continue reading Wash Trades

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Cartoons

March 18, 2013

None Today

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Newsclips

The Dow Extends Its Streak To 10 Days

March 15, 2013

Triblive – Dow’s 10-day winning streak ‘speaks to optimism’ The Dow Jones industrial average has reached another milestone, recording its longest winning streak since 1996. The index rose for the tenth straight day Thursday, gaining 83.86 points, or 0.6 percent, to close at 14,539.14. The last time the Dow knocked out 10 straight days of… Continue reading The Dow Extends Its Streak To 10 Days

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Are Initial Claims Bottoming?

March 15, 2013

<Click on chart for larger image> Comment Our colleague Bill King of The King Report noted the following this morning: FTN economist Chris Low: Since 2010, the drop in claims has taken place primarily in the fourth and first quarters. Claims increased in the second quarter last year and the year before and drifted mostly… Continue reading Are Initial Claims Bottoming?

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The Wealth Effect

March 15, 2013

CNBC – ‘Wealth Effect’ Driven More by Homes Than Stocks One of the big questions hovering over the market highs is the ‘wealth effect.’ Normally when markets hit record highs, Americans feel wealthier because of their bursting portfolios. That paper wealth creates more confidence, which creates more spending, at least according to the theory of… Continue reading The Wealth Effect

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Measuring Inflation

March 15, 2013

<Click on chart for larger image> The Wall Street Journal – Inflation Measure Makes Americans Cynics A change to the inflation-measuring process 30 years ago by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Uncle Sam’s arbiter of prices, is starting to raise eyebrows again. Since 1983, house prices haven’t been part of the consumer-price index. Instead, the… Continue reading Measuring Inflation