Bloomberg.com – U.S. Rating Outlook Cut to Negative by Fitch The U.S. lost its last stable outlook from the three biggest credit-ranking companies after Fitch Ratings lowered the nation to negative following a congressional committee’s failure to agree on deficit cuts. Fitch’s outlook on the U.S., which it still assigns its top AAA grade, reflects… Continue reading Fitch Lowers Its Outlook On The U.S.
In 1996 the NYSE began using decimals in pricing stocks. Since then, there has never been a day when all 500 of the S&P stocks were up on the same day. Prior to decimalization it never happened because as many as 20% of stocks would be unchanged on the day as the minimum move was… Continue reading Why Stock Picking Is So Hard This Year
<Click on chart for larger image> The Financial Times – Low growth and high debt is the sovereign curse The reluctance of stronger countries to countenance significant debt writedowns is also explainable. Losses on sovereign debt holdings would trigger the need for states to increase their own borrowing to recapitalise national banks and support their… Continue reading Sovereign CDS
The Financial Times – Fed and the housing market Who knows what evolutionary benefit comes from putting off corrective surgery or dragging out a corrosive relationship? Certainly America’s central bank chief, Ben Bernanke, has been no fan of quick and painful remedies. That suggests that there is a good chance of an extension to the… Continue reading QE3
Politico – Retirement leaves Dems pessimistic about House House Democrats are jumping ship — suggesting a growing concern within the party that winning back the majority in 2012 will be a difficult task. Massachusetts Rep. Barney Frank’s announcement Monday that he’s stepping aside after more than three decades in office makes him the latest in… Continue reading 2012 Election
Pimco.com – Family Feud 1. Investors should recognize that Euroland’s problems are global and secular in nature; it will be years before Euroland and developed nations in total can constructively escape from their straitjacket of debt. 2.Global growth will likely remain stunted, interest rates artificially low and investors continually disenchanted with returns that fail to… Continue reading Bill Gross Speaks
The Wall Street Journal – Throwing Another Barrel of Fuel on the Euro Zone’s Fire If anything, though, Europeans have it worse. A strengthening euro once mitigated the region’s rising fuel bill. But the euro has weakened as its economic underpinnings have buckled. Using the 12-month rolling average, Brent peaked in 2008 at €70 ($93)… Continue reading The Price Of Gasoline In Europe
The Wall Street Journal – Will the Muni-Bond Rally Survive 2012? After a dismal start to the year, few asset classes have rallied as much as municipal bonds. The iShares S&P National AMT-Free Municipal Bond fund has gained 10.6% this year, while the average intermediate municipal-bond fund gained about 7%, more than the average intermediate… Continue reading Munis In 2012
FT Alphaville (FT Blog) – Why I was wrong, by Dick Bove The answer to the question as to why I was wrong in 2011, and some other analysts may have been as shown in the Bloomberg survey, is clear. I failed to understand that the fears in the market concerning banking were so great… Continue reading Why Dick Bove Was Wrong About The Banks
H/t The Big Picture
Bloomberg.com – Grantham Calls Margins ‘Freakishly High’ That Doll Says Are Here to Stay U.S. companies are the most profitable in more than 40 years, and some of the best-known stock pickers are divided over how long that will last. Bob Doll, chief equity strategist at BlackRock Inc. (BLK), said low labor costs and cost-saving… Continue reading Are Earnings Cyclical?
Spiegel (Germany) – The World from Berlin: ‘Merkel and Sarkozy Are Viewed with Suspicion’ The leaders of France, Germany and Italy were keen to present a show of unity at their Thursday summit in a bid to convince markets that the euro zone is in safe hands. But tensions lay below the surface, with Angela… Continue reading Integrating Europe, As Long As You Listen To France And Germany