The New York Times – Pension Funds Making Riskier Bets Struggle to Keep Up Searching for higher returns to bridge looming shortfalls, public workers’ pension funds across the country are increasingly turning to riskier investments in private equity, real estate and hedge funds. But while their fees have soared, their returns have not. In fact,… Continue reading Pension Funds
<Click on chart for larger image> Bloomberg.com – New York, Chicago Post Warmest March as Record Month Ends New York’s airports and Chicago had their all-time warmest March while Central Park had its second- hottest as thousands of weather records were set or tied across the U.S., according to the National Weather Service. The average… Continue reading Is Hot Weather Affecting Economic Seasonal Adjustments?
Bloomberg.com – The Euro Won’t Be Breaking Apart Any Time Soon: Charles Wyplosz This is where, one more time, a historical perspective is needed. A country does not join a monetary union for a few years, when it is convenient and benefits accrue, only to leave once some of the fully predictable costs occur. Like… Continue reading Two Views On The Euro
BusinessWeek – Why the U.S. Penny Won’t Die Like Canada’s Just Did Poor little guy. Starting in the fall, Canada’s government will stop producing the lowly Canadian penny. The fact that pennies are expensive to make and are virtually worthless in today’s economy led them to fall victim to Ottawa’s budget cuts. The government says… Continue reading Canada Dumps The Penny
The New York Times – Joshua Brown: Another View: March Badness As March comes to an end and the NCAA basketball tournament heads into the Final Four, most office pools are likely to be in tatters. But Joshua Brown — a financial adviser for Fusion Analytics Investment Partners who blogs and tweets as The Reformed… Continue reading March Badness
Comment Jim Bianco was on Bloomberg TV on Wednesday night discussing stocks, gold and QE3. To view the interview click on the image above. To view any of our recent interviews click here. The Big Picture (blog) – Window Dressing or Something More? I cannot help but wonder if Bernanke hasn’t painted himself into the… Continue reading Talking QE3
Comment Jim Bianco was interviewed by Charles Biderman of Trim Tabs discussing the warm weather’s impact on the economy. To view the interview click on the image above. To view any of our recent interviews, click here.
The Atlantic – Ignore GDP: This Is the Obscure Stat That Explains the Hot Recovery But it turns out there might not be a gap, after all. Today we received news that GDI grew at a gangbusters rate in the fourth quarter of 2011. Bye-bye, growth-and-jobs gap. What the heck is GDI? It’s just an… Continue reading GDP vs GDI, What Does Bernanke Think Now?
The Wall Street Journal – The ObamaCare Reckoning After the third and final day of Supreme Court scrutiny of the Affordable Care Act, the bravado of the legal establishment has turned to uncertainty and in some cases outright panic. Everyone who said the decision was an easy fait accompli has been proven wrong by a… Continue reading The Healthcare Bill
Comment Jim Grant was on CNBC yesterday discussing the Federal Reserve. To view the interview click on the image above.
The Wall Street Journal – Low Rates Put U.S. Company Pension Deficits at Record Paltry interest rates and lackluster returns on investments pushed deficits at U.S. public company pension plans to a record last year–$326.8 billion as of the end of 2011, or $94.7 billion more than year-end 2010–according to a study by consultancy Milliman.… Continue reading Low Interest Rates Are Bad