The Telegraph (UK) – Christine Lagarde: IMF may need billions in extra funding Christine Lagarde has signalled that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) may have to tap its members – including Britain – for billions of pounds of extra funding to stem the European debt crisis The head of the IMF has warned that its… Continue reading The Bailout Fund Needs A Bailout
Zero Hedge (blog) – Record Correlations + Record Low Mutual Fund Cash + Soaring Dispersion = Recipe For Redemption Driven Disaster Correlation of market, sector, and intra-sector returns has soared to record levels as macro themes continue to drive equity market performance. Investors believe a high correlation environment is associated with low return dispersion. However,… Continue reading Equity Correlations
The Economist – Copper: Red bull The world’s most informative metal Copper is less sensitive to the ups and downs of rich-world economies than it was, however. For that, blame China. In 2003, before the full weight of China’s tearaway economy became apparent, copper traded at below $2,000 a tonne. It hit $10,000 a tonne… Continue reading Copper
Bloomberg.com – Merkel Says Greece Needs ‘Barrier’ to Stave Off Default German Chancellor Angela Merkel said euro-region leaders must erect a firewall around Greece to avert a cascade of market attacks on other European states that would risk breaking up the currency area. Expanding the powers of the region’s rescue fund, the European Financial Stability… Continue reading Merkel’s Maginot Line And Blood Pressure
Women screamed in pain after police rounded them up and sprayed them with pepper spray. The New York Daily News – Wall Street protesters cuffed, pepper-sprayed during ‘inequality’ march Scores of protesters were arrested in Manhattan Saturday as a march against social inequality turned violent. Hundreds of people carrying banners and chanting “shame, shame” walked between… Continue reading Protests On Wall Street
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<Click on chart for larger image> The Wall Street Journal – Euro-Zone Economy in Retreat The prospect of Europe falling back into recession came a step closer Thursday following the latest batch of dire economic data. Financial data company Markit said its preliminary survey of purchasing managers in the 17-nation euro zone fell into contraction… Continue reading The World Economy And Fear
The Wall Street Journal – Jon Hilsenrath: All Eyes on Bernanke’s Next Move In the Fed’s way stand potential structural problems in the job market, a damaged post-crisis financial system which blocks credit from getting to households and a deep lack of confidence among households and businesses. Some Fed officials are convinced there isn’t much… Continue reading Pushing On A String
<Click on chart for larger image> The Wall Street Journal – Tossing a Lifeline to Housing Market The Federal Reserve’s decision to reinvest payments from mortgages in its portfolio into government-backed mortgage securities signals a renewed effort to help consumers take advantage of interest rates that have fallen to their lowest levels in decades. Wednesday’s… Continue reading Can The Federal Reserve Help The Mortgage Market?
<Click on chart for larger image> SGH Macro Advisors – Greece May Not Get July Bailout: ECB and Default Backstops We have learned that there is an increasing assumption among policy makers that even while the EFSF ratification proceeds as planned the 109 billion Euro second bailout package for Greece agreed to on July 21… Continue reading Greece
The Telegraph (UK) – The great euro swindle The field is theirs. They were not merely right about the single currency, the greatest economic issue of our age – they were right for the right reasons. They foresaw with lucid, prophetic accuracy exactly how and why the euro would bring with it financial devastation and… Continue reading The Euro Swindle
<Click on chart for larger image> Seeking Alpha – The Decline And Fall Of Inflation Expectations – Again There’s also no shortage of voices in the private sector urging restraint on the stimulus issue. David Malpass, president of Encima Global LLC, advises in today’s Wall Street Journal that the Fed should cease and desist in… Continue reading Inflation Breakeven Rates Fall