The Wall Street Journal – Forgiveness of Debt Could Yield Savings As the regulator for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac nears its decision on whether to approve debt forgiveness for troubled borrowers, a new analysis by the regulator suggests taxpayers could benefit from the move, according to people briefed on the findings. Fannie and Freddie… Continue reading Principal Reduction
The Wall Street Journal – An Intriguing Idea to Encourage Bank Lending One way to induce banks to lend more to households and small and medium-size business is to enhance the profitability of doing so. And one way to accomplish that without interfering in private credit-allocation decisions is to reduce banks’ funding costs. Under the… Continue reading England’s Plan To Encourage Bank Lending
Crains – Manchester United dropping Aon for GM in 2014 Turns out Manchester United will have a U.S.-based company as its jersey sponsor after all. General Motors Co. and the wildly popular English Premier League soccer team announced a new seven-year sponsorship deal this morning that will emblazon the Chevrolet logo on the club’s uniforms… Continue reading Manchester United Gets Another TARP Sponsor
<Click on chart for larger image> Pimco.com – Cult Figures The cult of equity is dying. Like a once bright green aspen turning to subtle shades of yellow then red in the Colorado fall, investors’ impressions of “stocks for the long run” or any run have mellowed as well. I “tweeted” last month that the… Continue reading Bill Gross Speaks
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The Wall Street Journal – U.S. Profit Streak Hit by Global Weakness Bid adieu to growing profits. Slowing economies from the U.S. to China, increasingly wary shoppers, recession in much of Europe and a stronger dollar could bring to an end at least 10 continuous quarters of profit growth for America’s biggest companies. Until Friday,… Continue reading The Dismal Earnings Season
The Wall Street Journal – U.S. Growth Slows in 2nd Quarter U.S. economic growth pulled back further during the second quarter of the year as consumer spending slowed–a reading that suggests domestic fiscal worries may becoming a more significant drag. The nation’s gross domestic product–the value of all goods and services produced–grew at an annual… Continue reading Market Capitalization As A Percentage Of GDP
Bloomberg.com – Deflation Dismissed by Bond Measure Amid QE3 Anticipation For all the handwringing over the slowdown in the U.S. economy, the bond market shows there’s less risk of deflation now than before the Federal Reserve’s first two rounds of large-scale debt purchases. The expectation that consumer prices will rise, measured by the five-year, five-year… Continue reading Too Much Inflation For QE3?
The Telegraph (UK) – Ambrose Evans-Pritchard: Only Mario Draghi’s ECB can avert global calamity before the year is out Mario Draghi has promised the moon. The European Central Bank’s council had better deliver on his pledge this week. If it does not, the crisis will surely escalate out of control in August or soon after.… Continue reading It’s All About Mario
The Wall Street Journal – Spanish Economy Contracts More Sharply Spain’s economy contracted at a faster pace in the second quarter and inflation jumped in July due to higher drug prices and cuts to medical subsidies as austerity measures continued to take their toll. The euro zone’s fourth-largest economy contracted 0.4% from the first quarter… Continue reading Spain Gets Worse
<Click on chart for larger image> Zero Hedge – 46.5 Million Americans, Record 22.3 Million US Households, On Foodstamps; 8,753,935 On Disability America’s transition into a welfare state continues, as May saw a new all time high number of American households, 22.3 million to be exact, enter technical poverty and collect foodstamps. At the individual… Continue reading Food Stamps And Disability Total 56 Million Americans
The Wall Street Journal – Stocks Continue to Defy Investors’ Sour Mood Amid a fresh barrage of bad economic news, the mood among investors these days is glum. So it might come as a surprise that stocks are actually up so far this year. Stocks had swooned during the spring amid yet another flare-up of… Continue reading Does Everyone Really Hate Stocks?