The Wall Street Journal – Treasury Needs a Better Long Game Sooner or later, the Federal Reserve will want to raise interest rates. Maybe next year. Maybe when unemployment declines below 6.5%. Maybe when inflation creeps up to 3%. But it will happen. Can the Fed tighten without shedding much of the record $3 trillion… Continue reading The U.S. Treasury
Bloomberg.com – Volcker Says Weakening the Fed’s Stimulus ‘Liquor’ a Challenge Former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker said U.S. central bank officials may find it difficult to rein in their historic stimulus at the appropriate time because “there is a lot of liquor out there now.” “At some point when the worm turns and the… Continue reading Volcker Discusses Current Federal Reserve Policy
FOX Business – Fannie, Freddie to Start New Securitization Firm Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will build a new joint company for securitizing home loans as a stepping stone toward less government involvement in the mortgage market, the regulator of the U.S. government-controlled firms said on Monday. “The overarching goal is to create something of… Continue reading Fannie & Freddie Are At It Again
The Financial Times – Euro crisis is breeding comics not fascists Times may be tough but this is not the 1930s. Modern Europe is a richer, less traumatised continent Some months ago, I was discussing the euro crisis with a high-ranking US diplomat. “It’s back to the 1930s, isn’t it?” said my companion with a… Continue reading Europe
Comment Jim Bianco discussed the markets with Charles Biderman of TrimTabs on Friday. To view the interview click on the images above. To view any of our recent interviews click here. TrimTabs.com – Biderman and Bianco discuss Sequesteria and the new religion of risk-free stock market Jim and Charles discuss the nuttiness of sequesteria, which… Continue reading Discussing The Markets
<Click on chart for larger image> The Wall Street Journal – Student-Loan Securities Stay Hot Student loans are souring at a growing rate—and investors can’t seem to get enough. SLM Corp., the largest U.S. student lender, last week sold $1.1 billion of securities backed by private student loans. Demand for the riskiest bunch—those that will… Continue reading Reaching For Yield With Student Loans
The Wall Street Journal – Euro-Zone Bank-Rescue Deal Faces Hurdles German objections are endangering a landmark deal struck last year to prevent heavy losses at European banks from undermining the solvency of euro-zone member states. Germany’s reluctance to put its taxpayers’ money at risk in other countries’ banks is proving the biggest obstacle to letting… Continue reading Europe
<click on chart for larger image> Comment For more on the 2004/2005 spike and subsequent plunge, see this BEA Release and Microsoft’s press release. Could another such spike and decline be coming when Apple decides what to do with its cash hoard? CNN Money – Americans see biggest monthly income drop in 20 years Americans… Continue reading Personal Income Plunges, Taxes Do Matter
Barrons – The Bull Leaps Higher but Comes Up Short As the Dow Jones Industrial Average barrels toward a record high, all the hoopla is dividing the market. Small- and mid-cap stocks have already crossed into record territory. So, does the belated arrival of big-caps signal that the party is peaking—or will it herald a… Continue reading Stock Market Sentiment
MarketWatch – Easy money will end in tears, Allan Meltzer says At 85, Meltzer’s mind is ever-brilliant, but his mood was cloudy. “We’re in the biggest mess we’ve been in since the 1930s,” he told me. “We’ve never had a more problematic future.” As America’s foremost expert in monetary policy, Meltzer should know. He’s the… Continue reading Differing Views On QE
Barrons – More Stocks, Fewer Bonds It’s finally starting to happen: After five years of extraordinarily defensive investing, the nation’s largest wealth-management firms are growing wary of bonds and more upbeat on stocks. On average, the wealth managers are recommending that investors put 29% of their money in fixed income, down from 34% a year… Continue reading You Daily Installment In Bond Market Hate, Cover Story Edition