MarketBeat (WSJ Blog) – Wall Street Analysts Still Far More Optimistic Than Markets — Who Will Be Right? Wall Street analysts: We enjoy making fun of them as much as anybody, but in the spirit of holiday brotherhood or whatever, we will take this moment to note that they do occasionally come into contact with… Continue reading Earnings Estimates
(Chart courtesy of TheChartStore.com) <Click on chart for larger image> The Wall Street Journal – Fragile Banks Remain Afloat Ninety-two banks failed in 2011, well below the previous two years’ totals. The list of what regulators call “problem banks” is shrinking. And the latest two bank failures were the first in nearly a month—the longest… Continue reading Failing Banks
Bloomberg.com – Why We Are Uneasy About the Global Economy in 2012 The New Year opens with greater nervousness in financial markets and among policy makers than at any time since the Great Depression. The gloom is deeper even than in the aftermath of the collapse of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. in 2008, a much… Continue reading A Cautious Eye On 2012
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<Click on chart for larger image> Bloomberg.com – Libor Gap Hints at Debt Crisis Money-Market Freeze The gap between the highest and the lowest rates that banks say they can borrow from each other in dollars is close to a 2 ½-year high, a sign Europe’s failure to end the debt crisis is straining the… Continue reading LIBOR
<Click on chart for larger image> Barrons – A Grim Forecast for Corporate Earnings When earnings season begins in earnest during the second week of January, we may be looking for the grinch who stole fourth-quarter profits. The number of companies in the Standard & Poor’s 500 index that have made downward profit revisions is… Continue reading Corporate Earnings
The Wall Street Journal – Europe’s Leaders May Need History Lesson As this column pointed out last week, the leaders’ muddling-through isn’t yet doomed to failure. And perhaps we whose job it is to attend on serial summits and ministerial meetings invest them with too much significance. Perhaps too, the leaders are powerless to save… Continue reading Europe’s Leaders
<Click on chart for larger image> The Wall Street Journal –Euro’s Resilience Buckles, Hits 15-Month Low Many investors and analysts are predicting another leg to the euro’s slide in the first few months of 2012, with first-quarter forecasts clustering between $1.20 and $1.25. Even some who predict an orderly decline leave open the possibility for… Continue reading The Euro
<Click on chart for larger image> The Financial Times – Investors race to safety of US money market funds US money market funds are on course for some of their biggest inflows since the height of the financial crisis, in a sign that risk-averse investors are seeking safe haven in US Treasuries. The funds took… Continue reading Money Market Funds
The Financial Times – High-yield bonds end with a whimper The European high-yield bond market started the year with a bang but ended with a whimper after the resurgent eurozone debt crisis rattled investors, sending yields soaring and hamstringing fresh issuance. Bankers, investors and corporate executives are now praying that the market will reopen in… Continue reading European High-Yield Bonds
The Financial Times – It’s time for the IMF to stand up to the European bullies Sovereign risk was a principal theme in 2011 – most visibly in Europe and, to a lesser extent, in America’s loss of its triple A rating. Along with poor growth and rising inequality, it will continue to raise serious… Continue reading Mohamed El-Erian Speaks About The IMF
The Financial Times – Flash crash threatens to return with a vengeance And such luck may not be repeated. Since May 6, there has been a series of other, mini flash crashes in commodity markets. While regulators claim that introducing trading limits will fix the issue, there is scant evidence that this will really work,… Continue reading The Return Of The Flash Crash?