<Click on chart for larger image> Bloomberg.com – Junk Returns Seen Soaring as Europe Crisis Wanes: Credit Markets Junk bond returns may triple from last year as confidence builds that Europe will avert a sovereign-debt crisis and investors turn their attention to a U.S. recovery, according to analyst forecasts. JPMorgan Chase & Co. strategists led… Continue reading Junk Bonds
The Wall Street Journal – Currency Market in Quiet Mode Some of the busiest corners of the multitrillion-dollar-a-day foreign-exchange market are quieter these days. The currency market is experiencing its first slowdown since the 2008 financial crisis. Banks, fearing a global credit crunch brought on by Europe’s sovereign-debt struggles, are lending less, reducing the flow… Continue reading Currency Market Volume
The Wall Street Journal – Obama Proposes Tax Revamp The Obama administration will propose lowering the top income-tax rate for corporations to 28% from 35% but would raise overall tax revenue by eliminating dozens of popular deductions in an effort to restructure the corporate tax code. The proposal, which will be announced Wednesday, would lower… Continue reading Taxes
The Economist – Flipping Nerdy The cost of making pancakes around the world IN CELEBRATION of Shrove Tuesday, some Christians (and many indulgent atheists) cook pancakes. The tradition derives from the practice of using up all the fat in the cupboard in a great binge, before the 40-day fast of Lent began. To honour this… Continue reading The Cost Of Making Pancakes
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Comment Jim Bianco was Yahoo Finance last week discussing the Federal Reserve. To view the interview click on the image above. To view any of our recent interviews click here. Yahoo Finance – Does the Fed Print Money? Of Course! Jim Bianco Calls It “Fraud, Counterfeiting” In the accompanying video, Jim Bianco, president of Bianco… Continue reading Our QE World
The Financial Times – Eurozone agrees second Greek bail-out Bondholders forced to take deeper losses in €130bn rescue Eurozone finance ministers reached a long-delayed €130bn second bail-out for Greece early on Tuesday after strong-arming private holders of Greek bonds to take even deeper losses than they had accepted last month. Although Greek bondholders agreed in… Continue reading Opa! Greece Gets Its Bailout
<Click on chart for larger image> The Financial Times – US corporates shy to offer guidance US companies are more uncertain about the future than at any point since the financial crisis, with just one in five of the country’s biggest corporations making any predictions as they published fourth-quarter results. “We’re seeing a marked reluctance… Continue reading Earnings Forecasts
<Click on chart for larger image> The Chicago Tribune – Gas price spike pumping up fears Potential increase to record highs could slow economy, analysts say The unseasonably warm weather isn’t the only sign of an early spring. Roiled by the specter of Iranian oil cutoffs, gas prices are rising at a record pace, crossing… Continue reading Prices At The Pump On The Rise
<Click on chart for larger image> CNBC – Oil Surges 2% as Iran Halts Some Oil Shipments Brent and WTI oil futures are rallying strongly in electronic trading Sunday night on reports Iran has stopped exporting crude oil to British and French companies. According to news reports, Iran’s oil ministry spokesman said the country will… Continue reading Crude Oil
The Wall Street Journal – Top Banks in EU Rush for Safety Top European banks, responding to new regulations and wary of lending, are stashing increasingly large sums of money at central banks around the world in a collective flight to safety. The eight giant European banks that have disclosed their annual results in recent… Continue reading European Banks’ Flight To Safety
The Wall Street Journal – Fed Writes Sweeping Rules From Behind Closed Doors The Federal Reserve has operated almost entirely behind closed doors as it rewrites the rule book governing the U.S. financial system, a stark contrast with its push for transparency in its interest-rate policies and emergency-lending programs. While many Americans may not realize… Continue reading Federal Reserve Transparency