The Wall Street Journal – Borrowers Face Big Delays in Refinancing Mortgages Clogged mortgage pipelines have created headaches for hundreds of thousands of Americans trying to take advantage of low mortgage rates, which averaged 4.05% for the week ending April 27, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. Those rates have helped thousands of Americans free… Continue reading Refis
Bloomberg.com – Gross Says QE3 Getting Closer as Goldman Sees Easing Pacific Investment Management Co.’s Bill Gross and Jan Hatzius at Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) say investors should prepare for additional bond purchases by the Federal Reserve, known as QE3, to combat a slowing U.S. economy. A decision to buy more debt is “getting… Continue reading Bill Gross, Goldman Both Think QE3 Is Close
<Click on chart for larger image> The Financial Times – Dollar in a rut as recovery disappoints Back in January, foreign exchange strategists predicted 2012 would be the year of the dollar. The US currency was expected to enjoy strong gains as a positive recovery story unfolded in America. Instead, the dollar is stuck in… Continue reading The U.S. Dollar
The Economist (May 4, 2012) – Difference Engine: Awash in the stuff EVEN as it tries to slow production down, America is still pumping three billion more cubic feet (85m cubic metres) of natural gas a day out of the ground than it can consume. The country has become so awash in the stuff since… Continue reading Natural Gas Demand
None today
Bloomberg.com – Consumer Credit in U.S. Increases by Most in 10 Years Consumer borrowing in the U.S. surged in March by the most in more than a decade on growing demand for educational financing and autos. Credit rose by $21.4 billion, the biggest gain since November 2001, to $2.54 trillion, Federal Reserve figures showed today… Continue reading Consumer Credit – Worse Than You Think
The Wall Street Journal – As Gas Prices Fall, a Sigh of Relief Gasoline prices fell for the fifth consecutive week, extending a sharp decline that has eased fears that prices would soon top $4 a gallon at the pump. The average price of regular gasoline dropped to $3.790 a gallon as of Monday, the… Continue reading Gas Prices Are Falling, And You May Not Like The Reason
The Telegraph (UK) – New eurozone crisis looms as Spain prepares bail-out A new eurozone crisis is looming as Spain signalled on Monday it was ready to bail out ailing banks after markets shrugged off the election results in France and Greece Fears of a fall-out in financial markets after the election results in France… Continue reading Europe
<Click on chart for larger image> The Wall Street Journal – High-Grade Bond Yields Hit Record Low Corporate-bond yields are scraping the bottom of the barrel. A rush for haven investments after the weak April U.S. jobs report sent yields in the Barclays U.S. Investment-Grade Index on Friday down 0.03 percentage point, to 3.25%, a… Continue reading Corporates
USA Today – Invest in stocks? Small players still smarting On Main Street these days, investing in the stock market is about as popular as watching a scary movie on a 12-inch black-and-white TV. Wall Street’s long-running story about how stocks are the best way to build wealth seems tired, dated and less believable to… Continue reading Retail Investors Remain Out Of The Stock Market
<Click on chart for larger image> Bloomberg.com – VIX Lowest to CDS Since ’09 as Stock Hedges Trail Bonds The VIX fell 1.2 percent to 18.94 today after gaining 17 percent last week, the most since February. It reached the lowest level since June 2007 on March 26 at 14.26. The Markit gauge rose 3.1… Continue reading Citi Surprise Index Turns Negative, VIX Remains Low — For Now
The Financial Times – Securitisation: risk-averse What is riskier: buying entire mortgages, with the danger that a homeowner defaults, or securities backed by those loans which prioritise the holder with the first repayments? Securitisation’s role in triggering the financial crisis is coming back to haunt it: Solvency II, Europe’s new insurance regime, risks taking insurers,… Continue reading Securitization