The Financial Times – Wall St banks prepare for euro break-up Wall Street banks are increasingly telling counterparties and borrowers to restructure contracts or find another bank as they prepare for the potential exit of a country from the eurozone. Using hedges, such as credit default swaps, US banks have reduced their net exposure to… Continue reading Banks Prepare For Euro Breakup
MarketWatch.com – Shilling: New recession has begun Commentary: Don’t get excited about the recent ‘green shoots’ After a rocky spring, we’ve had two consecutive months of gains in the Standard & Poor’s 500 index. And some pros are looking for a strong fall and are hoping the Federal Reserve rides to the rescue with more… Continue reading Shilling Says A New Recession Has Begun
Bloomberg – Warren Buffett’s bets on housing aid Berkshire Hathaway Berkshire Hathaway Inc. is benefiting after billionaire Chairman and CEO Warren Buffett increased investments tied to the U.S. housing market and sidestepped bets on Europe amid the region’s debt crisis.The supply of U.S. homes has been declining, signaling that demand for new construction may increase,… Continue reading Buffett Bets On Housing
Reuters.com – Shell looks to pull some cash from Europe due to crisis -report Royal Dutch Shell is pulling some of its funds out of European banks over fears stirred by the euro zone’s mounting debt crisis, The Times reported on Monday. The company’s chief financial officer Simon Henry told the newspaper that Shell is… Continue reading More Anecdotal Evidence Of A Company Reducing Exposure To Europe
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The Wall Street Journal – Jon Hilsenrath: Holding Fire—for Now—but Laying Plans Ben Bernanke and Mario Draghi, with words but not yet actions, demonstrated this week that they are on red alert about the global economy. Expectations are now high that Mr. Bernanke’s Federal Reserve and Mr. Draghi’s European Central Bank will act soon to… Continue reading More On Central Banks
<Click on chart for larger image> Bloomberg.com – Corn’s 60% Surge Is More Dangerous Than Euro Mess If Jim Yong Kim was hoping for a honeymoon, the new World Bank president can forget it: To his headaches over Europe’s debt crisis he can add surging food prices. Kim’s first month on the job was largely… Continue reading Rising Food Prices
<Click on chart for larger image> MarketWatch.com – How to manage volatility as the fiscal cliff looms A year after the U.S. downgrade, volatility has receded; for how long? As investors mark the Aug. 5 anniversary of the United States losing its triple-A rating from Standard & Poor’s, they do so in a market that… Continue reading Volatility & The Fiscal Cliff
The Street – Bernanke Is Bluffing On Wednesday the Federal Reserve indicated it will take further steps as necessary to promote a stronger economic recovery. Sadly, the Fed’s bullets are spent, and the U.S. economy is skidding as a result of Obama Administration missteps. The economy is growing at less than 2%. Unemployment holds steady… Continue reading Is The Federal Reserve Bluffing?
<Click on chart for larger image> The Wall Street Journal – Jobless Claims Increase The number of U.S. workers filing applications for jobless benefits rose last week, continuing an uneven pattern that suggests job creation was likely modest in July. Initial jobless claims, an indication of layoffs, increased by 8,000 to a seasonally adjusted 365,000… Continue reading Initial Claims
The Financial Times – Brace for an era of crisis aftershocks Here is the reality. We have intense uncertainty on US fiscal, energy and health policies. Nobody knows what their effective tax rate is going to be next year so they cannot plan. When you model that uncertainty in economic terms, you end up with… Continue reading Crisis Aftershocks