Der Spiegel – Purchases of euro-denominated bonds: Fed is planning to challenge interest rate speculation The European Central Bank (ECB) is considering to establish in its future bond purchases interest rate levels for each country. Thus, they would state papers of the crisis countries always buy when interest rates exceed a certain impact on their… Continue reading Will The ECB Target Interest Rates?
Comment In the video above, Bloomberg talks about falling stock market volume. Generally they are correct, but we believe a clarification is in order. The chart below shows a version of what Bloomberg discussed, the 10-day moving average of NYSE-only volume. By this measure, the last 10 days of volume is at its lowest level… Continue reading Understanding Stock Market Volume
Comment In the post above we pointed out the decline in NYSE stock volume. Given the nearly ubiquitous bearish opinion of bonds by economists, is Treasury volume following suit? The chart below shows ICAP’s measure of trading volume of bills, notes, and bonds. While volume has trended down a bit from early 2011, the overall… Continue reading Treasury Volume Remains Constant
Barron’s – Orgy of Bond Issuance Continues August already has produced a record $40 billion in new high-grade corporate bonds and $30 billion in junk bonds. That collective exhalation comes from corporate treasurers and the bank syndicate desks that sell their bonds. Many of them might usually spend much of August at the beach. This… Continue reading Is Bond Issuance Booming?
The Financial Times – Gillian Tett: Fiscal brinkmanship is the real US threat Is America going to plunge off a fiscal cliff? That is the question starting to preoccupy Washington and Wall Street. For as fiscal issues move to centre stage in the 2012 election, America potentially faces three nasty shocks. On January 1 2013,… Continue reading Why The Fiscal Cliff Is A Really Big Problem (Because No One Believes It)
Reuters – U.S. corporate earnings point to further gloom Earnings season is drawing to a close and the results raise a number of worrying questions about the economy’s direction. For the second quarter, the percentage of companies beating revenue forecasts was the lowest since 2009. For every company that gave a positive outlook, nearly five… Continue reading Lousy Earnings
<Click on chart for larger image> The Financial Times – Spain bond yields fall as confidence picks up Spanish 10-year bond yields tumbled to the lowest for almost six weeks amid increasing investor confidence of decisive European Central Bank action to remove the risks of a eurozone break-up. Falling borrowing costs faced by Spain –… Continue reading Is the Spanish 10-Year Yield Now Low?
Bloomberg.com – Fannie and Freddie: The Walking Dead After nearly four years of a zombie existence, the U.S. Treasury Department finally pulled the trigger on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. In revising the terms of the companies’ bailouts, the Treasury is ensuring the mortgage giants never resume their heady roles as private companies. It’s an… Continue reading Goodbye Fannie and Freddie
The Washington Post – Barry Ritholtz: Where has the retail investor gone? Lots of folks are wondering what happened to the Main Street-mom-and-pop retail investors. They seem to have taken their ball and gone home. I don’t blame them for feeling put upon, but it might be instructive to figure out why. Perhaps it could… Continue reading Retail Investors
<Click on chart for larger image> <Click on chart for larger image> Comment Below are the Intrade charts which are updated in real-time in the tables in the right-hand column. <Click on chart for larger image> <Click on chart for larger image> <Click on chart for larger image>
The New York Times – Floyd Norris: Recovery in U.S., Though Lackluster, Trumps Europe’s THE economic recovery from the 2007-9 recession has been a slow one in the United States, prompting much grumbling. But at least the recovery is continuing. Figures released this week showed that many European countries have entered new recessions, and that… Continue reading U.S. – The Cleanest Dirty Shirt