<Click on chart for larger image> The Wall Street Journal – Pressure Rises on BOJ to Reach Inflation Target The government ratcheted up pressure on the Bank of Japan to quickly achieve its recently stated inflation target at a policy board meeting last month, as it seeks an end to a deflationary trend that has… Continue reading The BOJ Being Pressured To Hit Its Inflation Target
The Wall Street Journal – Confusion Still Reigns on ‘Volcker Rule’ Date The Federal Reserve’s attempt to clarify the “Volcker rule” is only creating more confusion. At issue is whether the Fed is requiring banks to start scaling back on making bets with their own money almost immediately, or whether they can continue until the… Continue reading Still Trying To Figure Out The Volcker Rule
The New York Times – U.S. Added Only 115,000 Jobs in April; Rate Is 8.1% The United States had another month of disappointing job growth in April, the Labor Department said Friday. The nation’s employers added 115,000 positions on net, after adding 154,000 in March. April’s job growth was less than what economists had been… Continue reading Pictures of Jobs
Comment Jim Bianco was on CNBC yesterday discussing earnings and the outlook for the markets. To view the interview click on the image above. To view any of our recent interviews click here.
Zero Hedge – Jim Grant: “The Federal Reserve Is The Vampire Squid Of Vampire Squids” Munch’s “The Scream” may be all the rage today, but to Jim Grant, in his latest interview on Bloomberg TV, the record price paid for the painting is not so much a manifestation of modern art as one of modern… Continue reading The Federal Reserve, The Vampire Squid Of Vampire Squids
<click on chart for larger image> <click on chart for larger image> CNN/Money – Will the rent be too damn high for Bernanke? Rents are soaring, and that’s bad news for inflation — and for Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke’s plans to keep it low Increased rates for rental homes and apartments will serve as… Continue reading Will Rents Push Inflation Higher?
FT Alphaville – Marginal oil production costs are heading towards $100/barrel Bernstein’s energy analysts have looked at the upstream costs for the 50 biggest listed oil producers and found that — surprise, surprise — “the era of cheap oil is over”: Tracking data from the 50 largest listed oil and gas producing companies globally (ex… Continue reading Cost Of Oil Production
Bloomberg.com – Buffett Trails S&P 500 for Third Straight Year Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRK/A) shareholders missed out on better returns from the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index by sticking with Chairman Warren Buffett after each of his last three annual meetings. Berkshire fell 2.4 percent from the firm’s April 30, 2011, meeting through yesterday, compared… Continue reading Buffett Struggles Again
The Wall Street Journal – Understanding the King’s Speech Mervyn King chose an odd way to open his first radio lecture: He reminded listeners that the last governor of the Bank of England to address the nation in this way was Montagu Norman in 1939. It was an illuminating reference. Mr. King’s predecessor, who served… Continue reading Understanding Mervyn King
The Economist – Buttonwood: Stuck in the middle How low real interest rates hurt pension funds Meanwhile, a longer-term problem is being stored up. Many companies have abandoned final-salary or defined-benefit (DB) pensions for new staff and switched to defined-contribution (DC) schemes, in large part because of the high cost of the former. These place… Continue reading Pension Funds
The Economist – Japanese exchange-rate policy: Weaken, dammit! Japan’s policymakers try subtle approaches to cheapen the yen WITH their overnight-lending rates at zero for most of the past decade, the Japanese public long ago stopped caring about interest rates. Instead the yen is their focus. Shoppers may revel in its current strength against the dollar… Continue reading The Yen