The Wall Street Journal – Hedge Funds Hit Resistance on European-Bank Trades In another sign of market participants exercising caution amid fragile market conditions, a number of hedge funds late last month tried to reduce their exposure to European banks with Credit Suisse Group using derivatives, but the Swiss dealer declined to take some of… Continue reading CDS Trading In Europe
h/t Merk Investments
<Click on chart for larger image> The Financial Times – Gold bugs beware – the bubble is finally bursting Gold is losing its glimmer. Last month, gold prices dropped more than $300 an ounce – the largest short-term fall in more than 20 years. This suggests that a decade-long bull market is ending. Gold’s recent… Continue reading Gold’s Bull Run
Bloomberg.com – S&P Valuations Below Average Recession Level The rout that erased $2.9 trillion from U.S. equities has pushed valuations in the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index 25 percent below the average level from the last nine recessions, even as profit estimates fall. Companies in the benchmark gauge for American equities trade at 10.2 times… Continue reading Earnings Estimates
<Click on chart for larger image> The Wall Street Journal – Market Nears Bear Territory After turning in the worst quarter since the financial crisis, U.S. stocks started the new one by approaching the level considered a bear market. The Dow Jones Industrial Average tumbled 2.4% Monday, leaving the index down 16.8% from its April… Continue reading Approaching Bear Market Territory
<Click on chart for larger image> The Wall Street Journal – Reason to Believe in Santa’s Ability to Deliver Solid Returns Known as the “Santa Claus effect,” stocks have historically finished the year on a high note. Since 1945, the Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index has gained an average 3.7% in the last three months… Continue reading Stocks’ Seasonal Trend Turns Positive
The Wall Street Journal – Ministers Grapple With Greek Deficit Euro-zone finance ministers reached a deal to provide collateral to Finland in exchange for future aid to Greece, clearing one hurdle to a larger bailout, but suggested that they could revisit a complex rescue plan reached in July given the deterioration of the country’s fiscal… Continue reading Greece
Bloomberg.com – Strategic Mortgage Delinquencies as High as 27% The number of borrowers choosing to fall behind on payments on U.S. home loans packaged into bonds without government backing has held steady over the past year, meaning the “strategic delinquencies” account for a larger share of new late payments, according to JPMorgan Chase & Co.… Continue reading Walkaways & Foreclosures
Discussing Our Outlook <Click on image above for full PDF> Comment Jim Was also on Bloomberg Radio Friday talking about the same issue. Here is a partial transcript. TOM KEENE, BLOOMBERG SURVEILLANCE: Let’s get right to it, Jim Bianco, Bianco Research. Jim, good morning. JAMES BIANCO, PRESIDENT, BIANCO RESEARCH LLC: Good morning. KEENE: You have… Continue reading Discussing Our Outlook
The Wall Street Journal – ECRI Recession Call: ‘You Haven’t Seen Anything Yet’ The U.S. is headed back into recession. That’s the word from the widely respected Economic Cycle Research Institute, which uses economic indicators to put together leading indexes. On its Web site, ECRI said the U.S. economy is “indeed tipping into a new… Continue reading Is A Recession Coming?
[pageview class=”PDFViewer” url=”https://www.biancoresearch.com/bianco/wp-content/plugins/PDFViewer/plugin.php?id=49″] Comment Jim Was also on Bloomberg Radio Friday talking about the same issue. Here is a partial transcript. TOM KEENE, BLOOMBERG SURVEILLANCE: Let’s get right to it, Jim Bianco, Bianco Research. Jim, good morning. JAMES BIANCO, PRESIDENT, BIANCO RESEARCH LLC: Good morning. KEENE: You have a really sharp note about correlations. This… Continue reading Discussing Our Outlook