Bloomberg.com – JPMorgan’s Iksil Said to Take Big Risks Long Before Loss Investigators are examining how long senior executives knew about Iksil’s swelling bets at the chief investment office before losses approached $2 billion. One focal point is why the formula used to calculate Iksil’s VaR was altered early this year, cutting the reported risk… Continue reading More On JP Morgan
Bloomberg.com – Saudi Output Rises to Highest in at Least 23 Years, OPEC Oil output by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries rose in May to the highest level since 2008 as Saudi Arabia pumped crude at the fastest pace in at least 23 years, a Bloomberg survey showed. OPEC production gained 20,000 barrels to… Continue reading The Saudis Open The Spigot
CNBC – Time Bomb? Banks Pressured to Buy Government Debt US and European regulators are essentially forcing banks to buy up their own government’s debt—a move that could end up making the debt crisis even worse, a Citigroup analysis says. Regulators are allowing banks to escape counting their country’s debt against capital requirements and loosening… Continue reading How To Make Things Worse
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Calculated Risk (blog) – ADP: Private Employment increased 133,000 in May ADP reports: Employment in the U.S. nonfarm private business sector increased by 133,000 from April to May on a seasonally adjusted basis. The estimated gain from March to April was revised down modestly, from the initial estimate of 119,000 to a revised estimate of… Continue reading Does ADP Add Anything To The Conversation? (Answer: No)
The Wall Street Journal – Europe Looks to Share Bank Burden The 17 countries that use the euro should set up a “banking union” that allows them to share the burden of bank failures, the European Union’s executive arm said Wednesday, as worries grew about whether Spain has the financial strength to shield lenders suffering… Continue reading The European Union
Bloomberg.com – Spain’s Banking Rescue Should Become Example for Europe Europe’s leaders can’t save their currency union without figuring out a way to salvage the region’s banks. Spain is a perfect place to start. Perhaps no country better illustrates the mutually reinforcing links among the euro area’s banking, sovereign-debt and economic crises than Spain. Its… Continue reading Spanish Banks
The Wall Street Journal – Kristina Peterson: Fed Board Reflects Obama’s Influence With the swearing in of a seventh Federal Reserve board member, the panel is operating at full strength for the first time since 2006, amplifying the activist stamp of President Barack Obama. Mr. Obama appointed six of the seven, including naming Fed Chairman… Continue reading Politics & The Federal Reserve
<Click on chart for larger image> MarketBeat (WSJ Blog) – Investors Keep Yanking Cash Out of Stock Funds Investors still hate stocks. Fund flow data show people keep pulling money out of the stock market and putting cash into bonds. Investors yanked about $7.2 billion from domestic equity funds in the week ended May 23,… Continue reading Investors Still Skeptical Of Stocks
<Click on chart for larger image> The Wall Street Journal – Gold Investors Rush for the Exits Gold’s status as a safe haven is looking shaky. Investors often have rushed to gold during flare-ups in the European crisis. But as they weigh Greece’s future in the euro zone and fret about Spain’s credit-market woes, fewer… Continue reading Gold As A Safe Haven
<Click on chart for larger image> The Wall Street Journal – Summer Is Looking Good for Gas Guzzlers “Fill ‘er up!” That was heard from sea to shining sea this past weekend as America’s unofficial driving season began. But just as the peak period for gasoline demand kicked off, private stockpiles of the fuel may… Continue reading Gasoline Prices