<Click on chart for larger image> The Financial Times – Mohamed El-Erian: Germany should beware of celebrating negative yields Another day and another previously unthinkable development becomes reality in Europe. Yet what on the surface appears to be good news for Germany – the record low yield at its latest government debt auction – is… Continue reading Germany’s Negative Yields
The Wall Street Journal – SEC Asks for Debt Disclosure In the latest sign of unease about how hard Europe’s sovereign-debt crisis might hit U.S. financial firms, securities regulators prodded banks to take a more rigorous approach to disclosing their European exposure. The Securities and Exchange Commission warned that disclosures made by publicly traded financial… Continue reading European Exposure
The Wall Street Journal – Italy Is Biggest Risk to Euro, Says Fitch Italy poses the greatest risk to the euro amid the sovereign-debt crisis, Fitch Ratings said Tuesday, citing the size of the country’s debt burden, Rome’s high borrowing costs and its need to access funding markets. Italy faces a “daunting” amount of government… Continue reading European Sovereign Ratings
MarketBeat (WSJ Blog) – Dollar’s Gain Could Be Earnings Pain A resurgent dollar will weigh on the next round of U.S. exporters’ earnings, with the first major reports this week offering a preview of what’s shaping up to be a banner year for the currency. The dollar went on a tear starting in September, strengthening… Continue reading Will A Strong Dollar Affect Earnings?
MarketWatch.com – Why stocks will beat bonds over the next 20 years After ‘lost decade,’ U.S. equities poised to reward investors for risk With so much volatility in stocks, many investors have increasingly favored the relative security of bonds and bond mutual funds. That may be a mistake.Using history as their guide, and weighing current… Continue reading More On Stocks vs. Bonds
Bloomberg.com – More U.S. Part-Timers Find Full-Time Jobs More Americans are moving from part- time to full-time jobs, adding to evidence a strengthening labor market will bolster household confidence and spending. The number of people putting in a full week (USEMFULL) rose to 113.8 million in December, the most since February 2009, the Labor Department’s… Continue reading Jobs
Bloomberg.com – Action on U.S. Housing Still Vital for Economic Expansion In an unusual step, the Federal Reserve sent a white paper to congressional committees last week, urging them to look again at what ails the U.S. housing market and at possible remedies. More can be done, the Fed says, to help it revive. Good… Continue reading Fixing Housing
<Click on chart for larger image> The Wall Street Journal – Holders of Greek Debt To Face Requests For New Concessions Private investors holding Greek debt could be asked to accept a haircut of around 60% because a previously agreed 50% write-down is no longer seen as sufficient because of the deteriorating Greek economy, people… Continue reading More Greek Haircuts Being Discussed
Comment Jim Bianco was on CNBC Friday afternoon discussing his outlook for the markets. To view the interview click on the picture above. To view any of our recent interviews click here.
Business Insider – December Jobs Report Smashes Expectations At 200k, Unemployment Falls To 8.5% The jobs number is out and it looks pretty good. Total number of new jobs created was 200K. That’s well ahead of the 155K estimates. On the other hand, November was revised from a net gain of 120K to just 100K.… Continue reading Friday’s Payroll “Miss”
The Wall Street Journal – A Quiet Fed Voice Emerges as Force Inside the Temple His profile will expand this year now that Mr. Williams is a voting member of the Fed’s policy-making body, called the Federal Open Market Committee. The 12 regional Fed bank presidents get to vote on the FOMC on a rotating… Continue reading Fed Presidents Disagree About QE3