Reuters.com – Exclusive: Spain ready for bailout, Germany signals “wait” – sources Spain is ready to request a euro zone bailout for its public finances as early as next weekend but Germany has signalled that it should hold off, European officials said on Monday. The latest twist in the euro zone’s three-year-old sovereign debt crisis… Continue reading Is A Spanish Bailout Coming?
Bloomberg.com – Bernanke Seeks Gains for Stocks in Push for Jobs: Economy Chairman Ben S. Bernanke is increasingly aiming for gains in stock prices as the Federal Reserve reaches for new tools to spur the three-year recovery and reduce unemployment stuck above 8 percent. Bernanke, setting the stage for a third round of quantitative easing… Continue reading QE3 And Stock Prices
<Click on chart for larger image> <Click on chart for larger image> <Click on chart for larger image> <Click on chart for larger image> The Wall Street Journal – Poll Shows Slim Obama Lead President Barack Obama heads into the first presidential debate with a narrow lead over Mitt Romney in a new Wall Street… Continue reading Election Update As We Head Into The First Presidential Debate
The Atlantic – What the Fed’s Historic Bet Means for You QE3 is an unprecedented experiment that might help jump-start the economy. But it could also hurt retirees, distort financial markets, and make your groceries more expensive. Don’t ask me why but, since the Federal Reserve’s dramatic policy announcement a couple of weeks ago, I… Continue reading QE3 And Main Street
<Click on chart for larger image> USA Today – It’s October: Is the stock market crash-proof? The scariest 19-day span during the 2008 financial crisis also went down in October, when the Dow plunged 2,675 points after investors fearing a financial collapse went on a panic-driven stock-selling spree that resulted in five of the 10… Continue reading Will There Be Another Crash This October?
Pimco – Bill Gross: Damages So I posed the question earlier: How can the U.S. not be considered the first destination of global capital in search of safe (although historically low) returns? Easy answer: It will not be if we continue down the current road and don’t address our “fiscal gap.” IF we continue to… Continue reading Bill Gross Speaks
Market Watch – Bond fund managers favor corporate debt Bond mutual funds rallied in the third quarter, continuing to ride the favorable tailwinds of slow global economic growth and central bankers’ low interest-rate policies. Yet cracks became visible in one key area of the bond market: long-term Treasurys. Those funds declined on average, the only… Continue reading Bond Fund Managers Like Corporate Debt
Bloomberg Businessweek – European Bank Capital Results Overtaken by Tougher Global Rules The Europe Union’s top bank regulator will release figures today detailing how lenders met a 114.7 billion-euro ($148.5 billion) capital target, as the bloc is criticized for failing to properly implement tougher global standards. European banks boosted their capital reserves by 94.4 billion… Continue reading European Bank Regulation
The Atlantic – The Next Panic This summer, many government officials and private investors finally seemed to realize that the crisis in the euro zone was not some passing aberration, but rather a result of deep-seated political, economic, and financial problems that will take many years to resolve. The on-again, off-again euro turmoil has already… Continue reading The Next Crisis … Japan?
The Financial Times – Martin Wolf: Is unlimited growth a thing of the past? In the 2000s, the impact of the information revolution has come largely via enthralling entertainment and communication devices. How important is this? Prof Gordon proposes a thought-experiment. You may keep either the brilliant devices invented since 2002 or running water and… Continue reading The Limited Growth World
The Wall Street Journal – Freddie’s Foreclosure Plan Hits Roadblock Freddie Mac is engaged in a tug of war with both its regulator and Wall Street over a plan to provide loans to investors that are buying homes in foreclosure to rent them out. The government-backed mortgage giant is pushing to finance such investors to… Continue reading Foreclosure Plan On Hold
Business Insider – JIM BIANCO: ‘Fed Policy Will Produce The Worst Possible Outcome’ The Fed’s quantitative easing policy will be “disastrous,” according to Jim Bianco, but prices for riskier assets will rise over the near term as a result. In remarks last week, Bianco, the head of the Chicago-based economic research firm that bears his… Continue reading Discussing Federal Reserve Policy