Bloomberg.com – Central Banks Search Toolbox for Ideas as Growth Slows Central banks are digging deeper into their tool kits in search of innovative ways to unclog bank lending and keep a weakening world economy afloat. With the fifth anniversary of the financial crisis approaching in August, policy makers from the Federal Reserve, the European… Continue reading In Search Of New Policy Tools
MarketWatch – Global economy’s cure is worse than the disease Dear Doctor: Thank you for referring Mr. Global Economy to me. The patient’s history includes a seizure in 2007/ 2008 — financial losses, banking problems, a major recession. Liberal injections of taxpayer cash avoided catastrophic multiple organ failure, assisting a modest recovery. Governments ran large… Continue reading Diagnosing The Global Economy
Business Insider – Forecasting Errors Have Cost The U.S. Government Trillions Call it the $12 trillion misunderstanding. It ranks among the biggest forecasting errors ever. Back in 2001, the Congressional Budget Office projected federal budget surpluses of $5.6 trillion for 2002-2011. Instead we got $6.1 trillion of deficits — a swing of $11.7 trillion. Naturally,… Continue reading When Budget Projections Miss
The Wall Street Journal – Nomura CEO to Step Down Japan’s Nomura Holdings Inc. has become the latest casualty of a global regulatory crackdown on investment banks, after its top two executives decided to resign to take responsibility for their company’s involvement in alleged insider trading. Kenichi Watanabe, Nomura’s chief executive, and Takumi Shibata, its… Continue reading Your Banking Scandal Of The Day
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Charts of the Week Topics Covered This Week Include: Mutual Fund Flows vs ETF Flows – 1 Mutual Fund Flows vs ETF Flows – 2 Record 10-Year Low Yields Record 5-Year Low Yields Blast From The Past The Fiscal Cliff Corn Soars Profits As A Percent Of GDP Rise Is Inflation Preventing More QE? More… Continue reading Charts of the Week
The Wall Street Journal – Jon Hilsenrath: Fed Sees Action if Growth Doesn’t Pick Up Soon Federal Reserve officials, impatient with the economy’s sluggish growth and high unemployment, are moving closer to taking new steps to spur activity and hiring. Since their June policy meeting, officials have made clear—in interviews, speeches and testimony to Congress—that… Continue reading Hilsenrath To The Rescue
The Los Angeles Times – (January 26, 2000) Clinton to Propose Early Debt Payoff Spending: Due to economy, budget going to Congress will contain plan to retire $3.6-trillion obligation by 2013, two years sooner than expected. President Clinton said Tuesday that the budget he will send Congress on Feb. 7 will propose paying off the… Continue reading A Blast From The Past
<Click on chart for larger image> Bloomberg.com – Euro Area Ready to Act as Spain Yields Surge, Frieden Says The euro area is ready to act to help Spain as the country’s borrowing costs soar, Luxembourg Finance Minister Luc Frieden said.While Frieden said no work is being done for a bailout of the Spanish government,… Continue reading Spanish 10-Year Yields Soar
CNBC – Home Price Bottom or Bubble? Home prices rose, just barely, in the second quarter of this year annually for the first time since 2007, according to online real estate firm Zillow. That prompted the popular site to call a “bottom” to home prices nationally. The increase was a mere 0.2 percent, but in… Continue reading Home Prices
The Wall Street Journal – Falling Global Rates Boost Appeal of Japan Chikahisa Sumi, the Japanese finance ministry official in charge of marketing government debt, is realistic about what is driving a spike in demand for Japan’s bonds from foreigners: They don’t have anywhere better to go. “Investors have to put money somewhere,” Mr. Sumi,… Continue reading Japan
<Click on chart for larger image> CNBC – Drought Hits Corn Crops: 1988 All Over Again? The United States might have had a spell of rainy weather, but it has done nothing to dampen the spike in grain prices and the country could be facing the biggest crop disaster for almost 25 years, Ana Puchi-Donnelly,… Continue reading Corn