The Financial Times – US budget: forecast’s tax take flaw The trouble with hard grinds (as opposed to magical solutions) is that they are pretty dull. How else to explain last week’s yawns over the US Congressional Budget Office’s latest budget and economic outlook? It forecast that budget deficits will fall from 8.5 per cent… Continue reading The U.S. Budget
<Click on chart for larger image> The New York Times – As Fortunes Dim, Banks Confront a Leaner Future Battered by a weak economy, the nation’s biggest banks are cutting jobs, consolidating businesses and scrambling for new sources of income in anticipation of a fundamentally altered financial landscape requiring leaner operations. Bank executives and analysts… Continue reading U.S. Bank Outlook
The Financial Times – Rally in equities defies spreading credit gloom Financial markets have been gripped by a striking dichotomy for much of the past week: while credit markets have continued to rumble and are arguably pricing in a global recession, many equity markets have managed to claw back some of their losses. Despite Ben… Continue reading Credit Continues To Lag Stocks
The Economist – European banks: Chest pains Europe’s sovereign-debt crisis is constricting the flow of money to its banks Steep falls in stock prices this month have erased all the gains made over the past year. The hardest hit have been banks, with those in Europe getting the biggest clobbering. European bank shares have fallen… Continue reading European Banks And European LIBOR
<Click on chart for larger image> <Click on chart for larger image> The Financial Times – Push for permits in Gulf of Mexico Sixty per cent of rigs contracted in the Gulf of Mexico are not working almost a year and a half after the Macondo disaster. Industry participants are meeting on Tuesday with regulators… Continue reading Gulf Of Mexico Energy Production
Spiegel (Germany) – Market Chaos ‘Potentially Dangerous for Humanity’ Financial markets are inefficient and growing to the point of overwhelming the economy, according to Paul Woolley, an expert on market dysfunctionality. In an interview with SPIEGEL he explains why it’s up to investors to stop dangerous trends and hold financial institutions accountable SPIEGEL: Mr. Woolley,… Continue reading Is This The Bear Market That Ends Humanity?
Spiegel (Germany) – Blast from the Past Has Merkel on the Defensive Criticism of Angela Merkel is nothing new. This week, though, it was ex-Chancellor Helmut Kohl who found sharp words for his erstwhile protégé. With her foreign minister also under fire, things are not looking good for Merkel in upcoming state elections Everyone knew… Continue reading Germany
The Telegraph (UK) – Christine Lagarde: EU banks must raise more cash Christine Lagarde, the head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), has called for European banks to be forced to raise more cash as the world economy enters a “dangerous new phase” which could end in recession In a remarkably gloomy assessment of the… Continue reading Did Lagarde Tell Too Much Of The Truth?
Gallup – Americans Choose Gold as the Best Long-Term Investment Men, seniors, middle-income Americans, and Republicans are more enamored with gold The Aug. 11-14 Gallup poll was conducted at the end of a tumultuous week on Wall Street that sent the price of gold soaring. Gallup asked a similar question from 2002 to 2010, but… Continue reading Contrarian Stories For Gold
<Click on graphic for larger image> The Wall Street Journal – Fed Faces Old Foe as Hazard Returns To seasoned investors, last week’s sharp market swings were a fresh reminder of a problem tormenting financial markets: moral hazard. Stocks jumped, then sank and then rose again, as investors tried to bet on whether the Federal… Continue reading Is Moral Hazard Back?
The Economist – Japan’s economic prospects: Out of the ruins A decent recovery may be on the way FIVE months after a tsunami and nuclear meltdown assailed Japan, the economy has been pummelled by fresh blows. Share prices have followed global stockmarkets down, with the Nikkei 225 index revisiting its nadir in the days after… Continue reading Japan’s Economy Gets Better
<Click on chart for larger image> <Click on chart for larger image> The Telegraph (UK) – Greece forced to tap emergency fund Greece has been forced to activate an obscure emergency fund for its banks because they are running short of collateral that is acceptable to the European Central Bank (ECB) In a move described… Continue reading Greece