The Financial Times – Architect of Fed’s ‘Operation Twist’ quits Brian Sack, head of the trading desk at the New York Federal Reserve, who was at the centre of the central bank’s extraordinary intervention in financial markets, has resigned from his position and will leave in September. He will remain in his current role as… Continue reading Brian Sack Quits
h/t The Big Picture
The Wall Street Journal – Markets Fear End of Stimulus Fears that the central banks of Europe and the U.S. may soon end efforts to support financial markets as well as fresh concerns about the health of Europe’s weakest countries drove down stock markets around the world Wednesday. European Central Bank President Mario Draghi indicated… Continue reading To Ease Or Not To Ease
<Click on chart for larger image> Bloomberg.com – Ezra Klein: Don’t Worry About Deficit That Will Heal Itself I’m not particularly worried about the budget deficit. In fact, of all the major problems the U.S. faces, I’m least worried about the deficit. That’s not because we don’t have to get the problem under control; it’s… Continue reading The Budget Deficit
<Click on chart for larger image> MarketBeat (WSJ Blog) – Stock Picking Back In Vogue In 2012 During the first three months of the year, it was a good time to be an active large-cap fund manager. About 57% of those managers outperformed the Russell 1000 during the first quarter, according to an analysis by… Continue reading The Art Of Stock Picking Might Not Be Dead After All
<Click on chart for larger image> MarketWatch – Bears not rampant Stocks stumble, but key letters, although usually bearish, are not giving up on this market. Dow Theory Letters’ veteran Richard Russell is about the most pessimistic. He wrote after the market’s close: “I took the action as the Dow Jones Industrial Average “trying” all… Continue reading Sentiment
<Click on chart for larger image> MarketBeat (WSJ Blog) – Gold’s ‘Swift and Brutal’ Drop Continues Gold’s retreat continues as traders bemoan the Fed’s abstinence from further stimulative measures. The reserve bank’s meeting minutes, released yesterday, indicated that a third round of QE “would only be undertaken if the current expansion falters or if deflation… Continue reading Gold
<Click on chart for larger image> The Wall Street Journal – Spain’s Borrowing Costs Soar Spain continued to find itself in the market’s cross hairs Thursday, as mounting concerns over the economy sparked a sharp slide in the country’s bonds and led to an evaporation of the effect of the European Central Bank’s generous cash… Continue reading Spanish Yields Back To Pre-LTRO Levels
Bloomberg.com – Fed Exploring Selling Maiden Lane III Assets From AIG Rescue The Federal Reserve Bank of New York is considering selling assets in its Maiden Lane III LLC portfolio, which were assumed in the government bailout of American International Group Inc., the district bank said today. “The change in the investment objective for Maiden… Continue reading The Federal Reserve Looks To Sell Maiden Lane III Assets
Ticker Sense – Up 28% in Six Months From 10/3/11 to 4/3/12 the S&P is up 28.58%. Since 1927 the S&P has gone up at least 28% in 6 months on 20 other occasions. The average change over the next one, three and six months is positive.
None Today
Conference Call Presentation/Charts of the Week Audio Topics Covered This Week Include: Summary/Conclusion Will QE3 Happen? Is Gold A “Risk-On” Or “Risk-Off” Asset? Correlations And Policy Uncertainty The Fed Says Inflation Is Temporary What Do Markets/Consumers Expect? The Latest On The Economy Is Warm Weather Boosting The Economy Unemployment Claims Seasonal Factors Earnings Are Still… Continue reading Conference Call Presentation/Charts of the Week