The Economist – Buttonwood: Marginal improvement Corporate profit margins are extremely high. Can they be sustained? THE past four years have been bad for workers and savers but good for the corporate sector. Profit margins in America are higher than at any time in the past 65 years. That helps explain why the equity market… Continue reading Corporate Margins
Bloomberg BusinessWeek – Libor Links Deleted as U.K. Bank Group Backs Away From Rate The British Bankers’ Association, the century-old lobby group that oversees the rate, last week deleted references from its website referring to its role in setting Libor. This week, it met regulators and bank executives to review the future of the benchmark.… Continue reading Running Away From LIBOR
The Wall Street Journal – Euro Zone Raises Crisis Firewall Ceiling to €700 Billion Euro-zone finance ministers on Friday agreed on a temporary boost of the bloc’s bailout lending limit to €700 billion ($931 billion), opting for a less ambitious plan that some fear won’t be enough to prevent a re-awakening of euro zone financial… Continue reading Eurozone Gets More Bailout Money
The Wall Street Journal – Junk Bonds Feed a Hungry Market U.S. companies with junk credit ratings are piling into the debt markets at a record pace, seizing on some of the lowest borrowing costs in history and strong demand from investors craving higher returns. Companies and investors both have benefited. Many corporate borrowers have… Continue reading Junk Bonds
The Financial Times – US farmers plan most corn planting since 1937 US farmers intend to plant the largest acreage of corn in 75 years this year as they respond to historically high prices and continued global growth in demand for the grain, used for food, livestock feed and ethanol. The US Department of Agriculture… Continue reading Commodities
Forbes – $500 Million Jackpot: Calculating Your Odds The Mega Millions lottery drawing Friday night will deliver a jackpot estimated at $540 million. Your odds of picking the winning combo are 175.7 million to one. Divide one number by the other. That means a ticket is worth $3.07, right? Maybe you should buy as many… Continue reading The Odds of Winning Mega-Millions
h/t The Big Picture Blog
Comment Jim Bianco was on CNBC yesterday with Rick Santelli discussing various topics. Among the topics discussed was the CNBC All-American Economic Survey (story below). To view the interview click on the image above. To view any of our recent interviews click here. CNBC – CNBC ALL-AMERICA ECONOMIC SURVEY: FEELING BETTER, BUT STILL LEERY ABOUT… Continue reading Americans Prefer Gold To Stocks
Zero Hedge (Blog) – Is A Bad NFP Print Days Away – Goldman Says Warm Weather Added 70,000-100,000 Jobs; Now It’s Payback Time Now that the ‘economy’, and by that we mean the stock market of course, is finally turning over, the topic of the weather will start being far more prominently featured, as there… Continue reading Is Warm Weather About To Hurt Nonfarm Payrolls?
<Click on chart for larger image> Real Time Economics (WSJ Blog) – Treasury to Cut Costs by Remaking Coins, Replacing Paper Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner outlined how his department will find savings, including $286 million in the next fiscal year, by changing the materials that go into coins, replacing paper with electronic communications and consolidating… Continue reading The Treasury Is Going To Change The Metal Content Of U.S. Coins
MarketBeat (WSJ Blog) – Analyst: Fewer Stocks Doing the Heavy Lifting = Not Good Ari Wald, a technical analyst for the firm, notes that the number of S&P 500 companies setting new 52-week high has shrunk as the rally has advanced. On Feb. 3, the net new 52-week highs — that is, the number of… Continue reading The Number Of Stocks At A 52-Week High Dwindles
Comment Jim Bianco was interviewed by Charles Biderman of Trim Tabs discussing inflation. To view the interview click on the image above. To view any of our recent interviews, click here. The Wall Street Journal – John B. Taylor: The Dangers of an Interventionist Fed A century of experience shows that rules lead to prosperity… Continue reading Inflation