<Click on chart for larger image> Zero Hedge (Blog) – Guest Post: Baltic Dry Index Signals Renewed Market Decline Much has been said about the Baltic Dry Index over the course of the last four years, especially in light of the credit crisis and the effects it has had on the frequency of global shipping.… Continue reading The Baltic Dry Index
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Comment Jim Bianco was on CNBC on Friday discussing Q4 GDP. To view the interview click on the image above. To view any of our recent interviews click here.
The Washington Post – Robert J. Samuelson: ‘Buffett Tax’ and truth in numbers In September, the Congressional Budget Office estimated the 10-year deficit at $8.5 trillion. The nonpartisan Tax Foundation estimates that a Buffett Tax might now raise $40 billion annually. Citizens for Tax Justice, a liberal group, estimates $50 billion. With economic growth, the… Continue reading The Buffett Tax
Real-Time Economics (WSJ Blog) – Fed Inflation Hawks Have More Influence Outside Than In The Federal Reserve’s hawks appear to have more influence outside the central bank’s policy meetings than they do inside. Public comments by three of the Fed’s so-called inflation hawks—the officials who tend to worry more that easy money policies may fuel… Continue reading The Federal Reserve
The Financial Times – Portugal yields jump on default fears Portugal’s bond yields rose sharply on Monday on concerns over the outcome of debt talks with Greece and ahead of a key European Union summit. Yields on 10-year Portuguese debt were trading up 26 basis points to 15.54 at one point, while five-year debt was… Continue reading Portugal
TIME Magazine – Christopher Matthews: Does Obama Finally Have a Plan to Fix the Housing Mess? The administration is keeping mum thus far on the exact details of the plan — but recent anonymously sourced reports in The New York Times and Washington Post are painting a picture of what such a plan might look… Continue reading Fixing Housing
<Click on graphic for larger image> Deal Book – Peter Eavis: U.S. Banks Tally Their Exposure to Europe’s Debt Maelstrom After a hurricane, homeowners check nervously to see if their insurance will cover all of the damage. With the European financial crisis still threatening a trail of defaults, United States banks are betting that their… Continue reading American Banks’ Exposure to European Debt
Barron’s – Yielding to Reality With interest rates near zero, our panel favors stocks with juicy dividend yields. Brian Rogers, Abby Cohen, Scott Black and Fred Hickey offer their investment picks this week Tireless as well as prescient, Marc Faber has warned Roundtable readers repeatedly that the Federal Reserve would keep interest rates unnaturally low… Continue reading Barron’s Roundtable
Bloomberg.com – Hedge Funds Lift Bets to Two-Month High as Rally Accelerates: Commodities Hedge funds increased wagers on rising commodity prices to the most in two months and the rally in raw materials accelerated as the Federal Reserve pledged to keep borrowing costs low for three more years. Money managers raised combined bullish positions across… Continue reading Hedge Funds
<Click on chart for larger image> The New York Times – Iran Says It Could Terminate European Oil Sales Next Week Escalating retaliatory threats over the West’s nuclear sanctions, Iran warned on Friday that it could terminate oil sales to Europe as early as next week, and it bluntly advised Arab oil producers that any… Continue reading Iran
<Click on chart for larger image> Business Insider – ROBERT SHILLER: A Housing Bottom? What Are They Thinking? BLODGET: A lot of people have just called the bottom in the housing market in the United States, and there’s been some okay data recently. Is that your take? That finally housing prices are bottoming? SHILLER: When… Continue reading Has Housing Bottomed?