MarketBeat (WSJ Blog) – Gas Prices, Stocks Approach ‘Danger Zone’ Evidence is mounting that rising gasoline prices are already crimping the American consumer. Now, they could pose a problem for the stock market, as well. Gas prices have jumped about 50 cents in the past month alone, pushing the national average to $3.78 a gallon,… Continue reading Gas Prices & The Stock Market
Business Insider – A Mindblowing Stat Shows What’s Really Been Driving Stocks The Last 4 Years While there is no doubt that Fed support has been a crucial, crucial support mechanism for higher equity values and economic improvement since first being utilized in late 2008, one cannot ignore (nor, admittedly, separate out) the improvement in… Continue reading Stocks & Earnings
InvestmentNews.com – Fallen star Heebner places astronomical bet against Treasuries Money manager Kenneth Heebner, convinced that a growing U.S. economy will eventually prompt the Federal Reserve to boost interest rates, has bet 21 percent of his CGM Focus Fund (CGMFX) on a decline in U.S. Treasuries. The $1.44 billion fund, which Heebner uses to make… Continue reading Another ‘Astronomical’ Bet Against Treasuries
Bloomberg.com – Abe Nominates Haruhiko Kuroda as Next Bank of Japan Governor Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe nominated Asian Development Bank President Haruhiko Kuroda to lead the nation’s central bank, raising the likelihood of further monetary stimulus this year. Kikuo Iwata, a professor at Tokyo’s Gakushuin University who advocates greater government oversight of the Bank… Continue reading Kuroda Takes The Mound
The Wall Street Journal – Debunking the Myths About Central Banks Myths govern modern central banking. Like many myths, they contain an element of truth that has been distorted by exaggeration and misapplication. This year marks the 100th anniversary of the U.S. Federal Reserve System—an appropriate time for some long-overdue myth-busting. The first myth is… Continue reading How Necessary Are Central Banks?
USA Today – Fitch warns U.S. risks losing AAA debt rating U.S. lawmakers must make credible progress this year on a long-term deficit-reduction strategy or risk losing Fitch Ratings’ top AAA grade on U.S. government debt, Fitch warned Wednesday. Fitch said it would not immediately cut its rating if Congress fails to stop $85 billion… Continue reading Could Fitch Drop The U.S. To AA?
Forbes – The 40 Highest-Earning Hedge Fund Managers And Traders In 2012, prominent hedge fund managers made headlines by successfully trading against JPMorgan Chase & Co., spending lots of money to influence the U.S. presidential election, and proclaiming that a nutritional supplements company was operating a pyramid scheme. While they made plenty of noise, very… Continue reading The Top 40 Hedge Funds Of 2012
<Click on chart for larger image> CNBC – Drunk on Junk: Why We’re Rushing to Risk Junk is all the rage these days as Federal Reserve policy pushes investors away from safety and into the far reaches of the risk spectrum. The highest-yielding bonds—which are by extension the lowest-quality—are in the midst of a record… Continue reading Junk Bonds
The Wall Street Journal – Fed Could Slow Bond Selloff The Federal Reserve is potentially years away from ending its easy-money policies and tightening credit, but Chairman Ben Bernanke said central bank officials could alter their strategy for what to do when that time comes. Testifying on Capitol Hill Wednesday, Mr. Bernanke said the Fed… Continue reading The Biggest Thing To Come From Bernanke This Week
The Washington Post – Senate confirms Jack Lew as Treasury secretary The Senate confirmed Jack Lew as Treasury secretary Wednesday, giving him broad responsibilities over the U.S. economy just as the country faces potentially severe budget cuts, a still-tepid recovery and an overhaul of financial regulations that remains incomplete. After being grilled by Republican lawmakers… Continue reading Jack Lew Confirmed As Treasury Secretary
Charts of the Week Topics Covered This Week Include: MF Flows YTD = MMMF Up, Equities Up More, Bonds Up Most Stock Market Sentiment Update The Credit/Stock Relationship The Payroll Tax And Walmart The Latest On Earnings And Revenue Growth ETF Assets Continue To Grow Bond Volume Up, Stock Volume Down Citi Surprise Turns Positive… Continue reading Charts of the Week