Business Insider – Check Out Ben Bernanke’s Massive Presentation Explaining The Origins And Mission Of The Federal Reserve Ben Bernanke gave a speech today in front of students from George Washington University’s School of Business as part of a four-part lecture series explaining the role of the Federal Reserve in the financial crisis. Today’s lecture… Continue reading Bernanke Explains The Federal Reserve
The Wall Street Journal – Central Banks Overestimate Trend Growth One key assumption central bankers are making is that the trend growth rates of their economies are broadly unchanged from what they were before the financial crisis. There are good reasons to believe they’re wrong. And this, in turn, will have significant repercussions for both… Continue reading The Output Gap Debate
Bloomberg Businessweek – Bernanke Says Europe Must Aid Banks Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said Europe must further strengthen its banks and that its financial and economic situation “remains difficult” even as stresses have lessened, according to testimony prepared for delivery to U.S. lawmakers today.“Full resolution of the crisis will require a further strengthening… Continue reading Bernanke Discusses Europe
<Click on chart for larger image> Forbes.com – S&P 500 Dividend Yield to Reach at Least 3% Banks boosting their dividends will lead to higher dividend yields in the benchmark S&P 500 Index, making investing more attractive to Americans who have preferred bonds. Last week the Federal Reserve gave a number of banks the green… Continue reading S&P Dividend Yield
USA Today – More companies purchase shares of their own stock Corporate narcissism could be the key to keeping the stock bull market alive. Three years after the worst stock swoon since the Great Depression, Main Street investors still don’t view U.S. stocks as must-own assets, draining the market of the cash injection it needs… Continue reading More Companies Are Buying Back Their Own Stock
<Click on chart for larger image> Bloomberg Businessweek – Treasury 10-Year Yield Surge May Be Ending: Technical Ana A surge in 10-year yields may be coming to an end after they reached a technical barrier, according to Shin Kong Life Insurance Co., citing trading patterns. Treasury rates climbed to 2.40 percent yesterday, above the so-called… Continue reading Getting Technical With The 10-Year
Reuters.com – Hedge funds ditch Treasuries in droves A good deal of the recent flight from U.S. Treasuries has been driven by hedge fund selling, according to a Wall Street analyst. Hedge funds and other large investors sold 78 percent of their holdings of 2-year Treasury note futures in the week ended March 13, said… Continue reading Hedge Funds Lose Interest In Treasuries
Bloomberg.com – Buffett Seizes Lead in Bet on Stocks Beating Hedge Funds Warren Buffett made a friendly bet four years ago that funds that invest in hedge funds for their clients couldn’t beat the stock market over a decade. So far he’s winning. The wager that began on Jan. 1, 2008, pits the Omaha, Nebraska,… Continue reading Buffett Leads Hedge Fund Performance In A Bet, Still Trails The S&P 500
The Financial Times – Moody’s downgrades Detroit’s debt Moody’s has slashed the credit ratings of more than $2.5bn of debt issued by Detroit in a move that could trigger payments related to its swap agreements, placing further pressure on the city’s precarious finances. More than $2bn of Detroit’s debt was downgraded on Tuesday by two… Continue reading Surprise!…Detroit Is Downgraded
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<Click on chart for larger image> The Wall Street Journal – GOP’s Budget Targets Taxes House Republicans, searching for an election-year message amid a muddled political and economic landscape, will introduce a 2013 budget Tuesday that cuts tax rates and provides for just two individual brackets of 10% and 25%. The budget would end the… Continue reading Blame The Loss Of Capital Gains For The Deficit
MarketWatch – Inflation beating deflation Inflation has now pulled well ahead in its contest against deflation. Nowhere is this as evident as in the relative performance of the stock market and gold bullion. After several years in which the two tended to go up and down together, in recent weeks they have begun to diverge… Continue reading The Relationship Between Gold & Equities