<Click on chart for larger image> Bloomberg.com – Brent-WTI Oil Gap Sliding as North Sea Output Rebounds The difference between the world’s two most-traded grades of oil is narrowing as North Sea production rebounds from the lowest level in five years. Brent crude on the ICE Futures Europe exchange in London cost about $18.50 a… Continue reading Brent-WTI Spread
The Financial Times – US junk bond yields hit new low Junk bond yields hit a fresh historic low as investors scrambled for higher returning assets ahead of a US Federal Reserve decision that could promise ultra-low interest rates for years to come. An index of high-yield corporate debt showed a yield of 6.48 per… Continue reading U.S. Junk Bonds
None Today
Comment As we detailed yesterday, the Federal Reserve is widely expected to announce more stimulus, otherwise known as QE3, at its meeting Thursday. Lots of the discussion thus far has focused on whether or not QE will happen and not on the purpose of QE. The post below is a good example of economists discussing… Continue reading What Is The Purpose of QE?
Politico.com – Fiscal cliff: Congress weighs another round of kick the can For all the hype surrounding the dreaded fiscal cliff on taxes and spending, an increasing number of lawmakers are starting to push for Congress to do what it does best when faced with a difficult decision: punt. If Mitt Romney wins the presidency,… Continue reading When Do We Reach The Debt Ceiling?
Bloomberg.com – Caroline Baum: Bernanke Has Already Told Us: More Stimulus Is Coming Let us begin by stipulating that Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke will be damned if he does and damned if he doesn’t on Wednesday. If he introduces a new bond-buying program or some other nontraditional policy to goose the economy, Republicans will… Continue reading QE3 Is Coming
<Click on chart for larger image> <Click on chart for larger image> <Click on chart for larger image> Comment As the first two charts show above, Gallup poll numbers for Obama have risen to the highest point since the Bin Laden assassination (May 2011). This suggests that the Democratic convention was a political success. However,… Continue reading Obama’s Convention Bounce, Temporary Or Something More?
Bloomberg.com – Big Banks Hide Risk Transforming Collateral for Traders JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM) and Bank of America Corp. are helping clients find an extra $2.6 trillion to back derivatives trades amid signs that a shortage of quality collateral will erode efforts to safeguard the financial system. Starting next year, new rules designed to… Continue reading Collateral Transformation
The Wall Street Journal – Companies Rush to Borrow Cash It is calmest in the eye of the storm. With last week’s market-moving turbulence behind them—and more possibly in store later this week—corporations took advantage of the peace and quiet Monday to borrow more cash in a single day than they have in two years…That… Continue reading Corporate Issuance
The Wall Street Journal – Before Scandal, Clash Over Control of Libor Four years before a scandal erupted over banks’ attempts to manipulate an important interest rate, the head of a private association of giant banks suggested that perhaps the group shouldn’t be responsible for what had come to be known as “the world’s most… Continue reading LIBOR
The Wall Street Journal – Treasury Sells Big Chunk of AIG Stock The Treasury Department sold a massive chunk of American International Group Inc. stock Monday, ending the government’s majority ownership of a company that in 2008 nearly toppled the financial system. The deal is an achievement for the government, which has fully recovered the… Continue reading The Treasury Is No Longer A Majority Owner Of AIG
Real Time Economics (WSJ Blog) – Many New Jobs Created in Low-Wage Industries Since bottoming out in February 2010, the U.S. economy has added about 4.6 million private-sector jobs. That’s the good news. The bad news is that it’s not nearly enough to make up for the 8.9 million wiped out during the recession. And… Continue reading The Quality Of Jobs Being Created