Bloomberg.com – Bloomberg News Responds to Bernanke Criticism Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said in a letter to four senior lawmakers today that recent news articles about the central bank’s emergency lending programs contained “egregious errors.” While Bernanke’s letter and an accompanying four-page staff memo posted on the Fed’s website didn’t mention any news… Continue reading Bernanke vs. Bloomberg
The Wall Street Journal – Downgrade Threat Irks Governments The threat of a collective downgrade of euro-zone nations’ credit ratings damped the market enthusiasm that had greeted the announcement a day earlier by France and Germany of plans for a solution to the debt crisis. Reactions in Europe’s capitals ranged from stoicism to outrage as… Continue reading Criticism Of S&P’s Credit Watch Warning
The Wall Street Journal – Geithner Says Europe ‘Will Succeed’ U.S. Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner said Wednesday he was confident that the efforts made by European governments to tackle the sovereign-debt crisis and economic slowdown will be successful. “We’re encouraged by the progress [Europeans] are making, not just to put in place economic reforms across… Continue reading More On The Euro Crisis
The Globe And Mail – Triple-A euro zone: EFSF looks doomed There goes Plan A. With the threat to downgrade the credit ratings of the euro zone’s six triple-A rated nations, Europe’s bailout fund has been holed below the water line. The European Financial Stability Facility’s appeal to investors lay in its triple-A status, backed… Continue reading What Will Happen With The EFSF?
FT Alphaville – How Germany is paying for the Eurozone crisis anyway In such a situation, market participants may transfer funds from financial institutions in fiscally weak countries to other ‘safe’ countries like Germany. In tranquil times, such transfers can be done seamlessly through the TARGET mechanism of the ECB. However, if a critical mass… Continue reading Germany Is Paying For The Euro Crisis Regardless Of The Summit Agreement
The Wall Street Journal – Spain Weighing a Fast, Costly Cleanup of Banks Spain’s incoming prime minister, intent on curing the country’s ailing banking sector, is considering cleanup plans that could dwarf the cost of previous efforts, including the creation of a state-funded “bad bank” to acquire toxic assets or a move to force banks… Continue reading Spain Looks To Help Its Banks
Bloomberg Businessweek – BOE Starts New Sterling Liquidity Facility as Crisis Spirals The Bank of England introduced a new sterling liquidity facility to address potential financial- market strains as Europe’s sovereign debt crisis intensifies. The central bank announced the move “in light of the continuing exceptional stresses in financial markets,” it said in a statement… Continue reading The BoE Introduces A New Liquidity Facility
<Click on chart for larger image> The Wall Street Journal – Food Stamp Use on the Rise Food-stamp use jumped in the U.S. in September as 11 states tapped into the program for disaster assistance. Food stamp rolls have risen 7.8% in the past year, the Department of Agriculture reported, though the pace of growth… Continue reading Food Stamp Usage At A Record
Bloomberg.com – Hedge Funds Fell 1% Last Month as European Debt Crisis Dragged Down Stocks Hedge funds fell 1 percent in November as global stock markets slumped because of growing concern that the European sovereign-debt crisis would spread. The Bloomberg aggregate hedge-fund index dropped to 116.03 from 117.22 in October, bringing this year’s loss to… Continue reading Hedge Fund Performance
The Wall Street Journal- Alan Reynolds: Tax Rates, Inequality and the 1% Those who obsess over income shares should welcome stock market crashes and deep recessions because such calamities invariably reduce ‘inequality.’ But here’s a question: Why did the report stop at 2007? The CBO didn’t say, although its report briefly acknowledged—in a footnote—that “high… Continue reading The Top 1 % And Inequality
The Street – Newt Gingrich: Fed Confused, Fire Bernanke Newt Gingrich reiterated that he would fire Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and named three steps he would immediately take to reform the central bank if he were elected president. “I would, first of all, demand a thorough audit [of the Fed]. Second, publish all the… Continue reading Gingrich Would Fire Bernanke Immediately
The Wall Street Journal – Overweight in Metal, This Band Tries to Play Tunes in Forex The rock group Metallica has made a living for the past 30 years growling about death in apocalyptic anthems like “The Four Horsemen” and “Enter Sandman.” Now, the heavy-metal pioneers are sleeping with one eye open for a different… Continue reading Metallica Changes Tour Plans Due To The Euro Crisis