The Wall Street Journal – Corporate Bond Issues Hit a Wall in Demand Corporate-bond issuance got off to a slow start this week, contrary to expectations for a burst of debt sales from highly rated companies following last week’s announcement of a rescue plan for European nations.Investor sentiment wasn’t as optimistic as last week, evidenced… Continue reading Corporate Issuance
The Telegraph (UK) – Fast cars and loose fiscal morals: there are more Porsches in Greece than taxpayers declaring 50,000 euro incomes Jubilation about the German deal to save the euro could prove short-lived if fresh news of Greek tax evasion gains wider currency. There are more Porsche Cayennes registered in Greece than taxpayers declaring… Continue reading Austerity Hits Greece Hard
None Today
<Click on chart for larger image> Dshort.com – Doug Short: ECRI Recession Watch: Growth Index Virtually Unchanged The Weekly Leading Index (WLI) growth indicator of the Economic Cycle Research Institute (ECRI) posted -10.0 in its latest reading, data through October 21, a fractionally change from the previous week’s -10.1. On September 30th, the ECRI publicly… Continue reading Leading Indicators
<Click on chart for larger image> The Financial Times – Italian borrowing costs stoke crisis fears Italy, or rather its bond market, has become the barometer of success for Europe’s leaders. And, just days after a European Union summit unveiled what politicians hope will be a “bazooka” to fight the debt crisis, the omens are… Continue reading Italy
<Click on chart for larger image> Bloomberg.com – Europe Tries To Recapitalize Banks Without Injecting Capital Europe’s largest banks may raise just a tenth of the total capital shortfall estimated by regulators, fueling concern policy makers’ plans to bolster the region’s lenders could fail. European Union leaders ordered banks last week to increase the ratio… Continue reading European Banks
<Click on chart for larger image> The Wall Street Journal – Greek Vote Threatens Bailout Premier Calls for Surprise Referendum Days After European Leaders OK Aid Deal Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou stunned Europe by announcing a referendum on his country’s latest bailout—a high-stakes gamble that could undermine the international effort to preserve the euro.… Continue reading Greece
The New York Times – Regulators Investigating MF Global Federal regulators have discovered that hundreds of millions of dollars in customer money have gone missing from MF Global in recent days, prompting an investigation into the company’s operations as it filed for bankruptcy on Monday, according to several people briefed on the matter. The revelation… Continue reading MF Global Situation Takes A Turn For The Worse
The Financial Times – Beijing will not ride to eurozone’s rescue As Wen Jiabao, premier, pointed out at the 2011 Dalian World Economic Forum, the European Union has first to put its house in order. When countries and political parties in the eurozone squabble among themselves over how to proceed, how can China support any… Continue reading Will China Really Bail Out Europe?
Comment The idea of owning stocks around the beginning of every month and selling soon thereafter has been popular for a long time. This trading oddity gained even more prominence in 2010 when the first trading day of each month accounted for almost all of the year’s gains in the S&P 500. As we noted… Continue reading Trading The First Day Of The Month
Reuters – Mohamed El-Erian: Could America turn out worse than Japan? It is time to say goodbye to the confident reassurances from American policymakers that Japan could not “happen here.” It is also time to regret the smug assertions that Japan’s “lost decade” of growth was due to a combination of uniquely Japanese failings –… Continue reading Comparing The U.S. & Japan
<Click on chart for larger image> The Wall Street Journal – After Manager Miscues, Bond-Fund Investors Playing Catch-Up For months, jittery investors have been piling into bond funds for their perceived safety and solid returns. There’s just one problem: Most continue to underperform. While the recent stumbles of star bond-fund managers have been well-publicized, financial… Continue reading Bond Funds