<Click on chart for larger image> The Wall Street Journal – Gold Even Reigns On Stock Market Gold bugs just notched one more victory over the naysayers. SPDR Gold Shares, the giant gold exchange-traded fund, is now the biggest such fund by assets, surpassing the SPDR S&P 500 ETF, which tracks the Standard & Poor’s… Continue reading Move Over SPY, GLD Is Now The Biggest Fund In Town
<Click on chart for larger image> The Financial Times – Tracking gold volatility It is tempting to view the CBOE’s Gold Volatility index as a more honest gauge compared with its equity counterpart, the Vix. The latter, famously, can drift lower providing big moves in the underlying market are to the upside. The higher stocks… Continue reading Gold Volatility
The Financial Times – Misdiagnosing the eurozone’s banks Falls in eurozone bank shares have set off warning bells for the bloc’s banking sector. It is a false alarm – for now. With local exceptions, European banks are not squeezed for funds. Alarmism risks fuelling the sort of misdiagnosis that has already made governments throw good… Continue reading Is There A Funding Crisis At European Banks?
MarketWatch – Get ready for a Jackson Hole surprise As the Fed conclave begins this week, the question on everyone’s mind is will it be, as Yogi Berra said, déjà vu all over again? And how can one position a portfolio of exchange-traded funds for either a “yea” or “nay” on more Fed action coming… Continue reading Jackson Hole
<Click on chart for larger image> The Financial Times – The Bank of America explanation game Who wants to play our Bank of America game? Be your very own markets reporter by filling in the blank in the mock lede below. Bonus points for use of the words “swoon”, “pare”, “checked”, “fears” and “rumours”. Bank… Continue reading U.S. Banks
Bloomberg.com – Morgan Stanley at Brink Got $107B From Fed As markets convulsed in September 2008, Morgan Stanley (MS) Treasurer David Wong briefed the Federal Reserve on a “dark” scenario in which the U.S. firm would need at least $10 billion of emergency loans from the central bank. It got 10 times darker by month’s… Continue reading Morgan Stanley’s Emergency Loans In 2008
The Wall Street Journal – Libyan Rebels Reach Tripoli Libyan rebels poured into Tripoli on Sunday after seizing a nearby military base, as fears of a bloody fight gave way to scenes of jubilant rebels surging toward the city’s center and meeting little resistance from Col. Moammar Gadhafi’s defenses. Meanwhile, Sidiq al-Kibir, the rebel leadership… Continue reading Libya Falls?
The Wall Street Journal – A Rush to Pipe Oil to Gulf The race is on to build pipelines to relieve a glut of crude oil in the U.S. heartland, but not all of the four plans will make it to the finish line. It is a competition that is being closely watched in oil… Continue reading Will WTI Rally To Brent When Prices Converge?
The Wall Street Journal – JEREMY J. SIEGEL AND JEREMY SCHWARTZ: The Bond Bubble and the Case for Stocks Despite the recent surge in bond prices and fall in the stock market, portfolios of dividend-paying stocks that we recommended a year ago have matched the returns of both the standard and inflation-protected Treasury 10-year bonds.… Continue reading Dr. Siegel, I Promise One Day In Your Career Stocks Will Beat Bonds
Bloomberg.com – Record S&P 500 Correlation Signals Retreat: Technical Analysis Stocks in the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index are moving in lockstep with each other by the most since at least 1990, a sign that the market’s biggest retreat in three years may not be over, according to MF Global Holdings Ltd. The average correlation… Continue reading Stock Correlations Again Approaching New Highs
Reuters – All eyes on Bernanke as recession looms With the global economy sputtering and financial markets on the rocks, the world needs reassurance the U.S. central bank stands ready to save the day. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke will make a speech on Friday at a lodge in Wyoming’s Jackson Hole, where policymakers and… Continue reading Here Comes Jackson Hole!