Bloomberg.com – Smart Money Is on Geithner to Replace Bernanke Another important position in Washington that stands to be filled early in Obama’s second term — but isn’t getting a whole lot of attention at the moment — is the one currently held by Ben Bernanke, the chairman of the Federal Reserve. Bernanke’s second, probably… Continue reading Vetting Bernanke’s Potential Replacements
CNN/Money – Mohamed A. El-Erian: How risky is the Fed’s major move? A bold and necessary move? Yes, but the Fed’s growing activism has limits and is ultimately inconsistent with the proper efficient functioning of a market economy. Have no doubt: Yesterday’s Fed announcement will go down in the history books — at least those… Continue reading The Federal Reserve’s Economic Targets
<Click on chart for larger image> Reuters – Who ate the market volatility? Volatility in financial markets is now trading more like we are in the pre-crisis world of 2006, rather than one in which most of the crucial questions are left unanswered…In fact, if we get through December without a major market upset, 2012… Continue reading QE’s Effect On Volatility
CNBC – How the Fed Is Pushing Investors to Buy Junk Bonds The Fed’s announcement on Wednesday that it will tie near-zero rates to specific unemployment and inflation rates sent a clear signal: Those looking for return in cash and fixed income won’t get it from conventional debt instruments like Treasurys and money market funds.… Continue reading Reaching For Yield
The Wall Street Journal – Fed Swaps Continue for Foreign Lenders The Federal Reserve on Thursday extended until February 2014 a program that lends U.S. dollars to foreign central banks. The U.S. central bank said it will continue to run its dollar swap lines with the Bank of Canada, the Bank of England, the European… Continue reading The Federal Reserve Extends Swaps For Foreigners
The Financial Times – Gillian Tett: Digital threat to Fed’s jobless target [T]his year the economy is on track to post growth above 2.5 per cent. However, the unemployment rate has barely fallen, running at 7.7 per cent. Just like those Exim-backed companies, the American economy as a whole now seems to be doing more… Continue reading Productivity Increases & The Jobless Rate
MarketBeat (WSJ Blog) – Short Sellers Getting Antsy The short trade is getting crowded heading into year-end. Short interest, or bearish bets, on S&P 500 stocks increased to 4% of shares outstanding during the last two weeks of November. That’s close to a 2012 high, according to Bespoke Investment Group. Short sellers borrow shares in… Continue reading Short Sellers On The Rise
Bloomberg.com – Pimco’s Gross Says Fed Policy Means ‘Free’ Debt for Treasury Pacific Investment Management Co.’s Bill Gross, manager of the world’s biggest bond fund, said the Federal Reserve’s latest round of monetary stimulus will enable the Treasury department to issue debt for no cost…“What really happens, and this is critically important, is that the… Continue reading Free Money
Real Time Economics (WSJ Blog) – Drought Starting to Show Up in Food Prices A visit to the grocery store is likely to make shoppers skeptical about news of falling inflation. The drought last summer in the nation’s breadbasket is starting to reflect in food costs even as falling prices at the pump are pushing… Continue reading Is Food Inflation Beginning To Take Hold?
[pageview class=”PDFViewer” url=”https://www.biancoresearch.com/bianco/wp-content/plugins/PDFViewer/plugin.php?id=106″] Bloomberg.com – Fed Expands Asset Buying, Links Rates to Joblessness, Prices The Federal Reserve said it will buy $45 billion a month of Treasury securities starting in January, expanding its asset-purchase program, and for the first time linked the outlook for its main interest rate to unemployment and inflation. “The committee remains… Continue reading The Federal Reserve Officially Adopts Economic Targets