<Click on chart for larger image> China Daily – Possible US QE3 sparks concerns “If the Fed continues to print more money (as Bernanke hinted), it will drag China into a protracted war to limit liquidity and tame inflation,” Lu Zhengwei, chief economist with Industrial Bank Co Ltd, said. China’s consumer inflation already surged to… Continue reading China
<Click on chart for larger image> The Telegraph (UK) – Ambrose Evans-Pritchard: Return of the Gold Standard As world order unravels As the twin pillars of international monetary system threaten to come tumbling down in unison, gold has reclaimed its ancient status as the anchor of stability. The spot price surged to an all-time high… Continue reading The Gold Standard
None Today
The Wall Street Journal – Bernanke Sends Congress the Wrong Message Ben Bernanke may have shot debt-ceiling talks in the foot. In testimony Wednesday on Capitol Hill, the Federal Reserve chairman opened the door to additional government-bond buys. That prospect breathed new life into stocks. But this may be the worst outcome for the possibly… Continue reading Can The Markets Force A Deal On The Debt Ceiling?
The Wall Street Journal – Fed Chief Open to New Options The Federal Reserve is prepared to act if economic weakness persists, Chairman Ben Bernanke said Wednesday, leaving open the possibility of a third round of bond purchases by the U.S. central bank. “The possibility remains that the recent economic weakness may prove more persistent… Continue reading Bernanke And QE3
The Wall Street Journal – The Disappearing Recovery Robert Lucas, the 1995 Nobel laureate in economics, has spent his career thinking about why economies grow, and in particular about the effect of policy making on growth. From his office at the University of Chicago, Prof. Lucas has been wondering, like the rest of us, why,… Continue reading The Economic Soft Patch
Bloomberg – Reinhart and Rogoff: The Economy Can’t Grow With Debt As public debt in advanced countries reaches levels not seen since the end of World War II, there is considerable debate about the urgency of taming deficits with the aim of stabilizing and ultimately reducing debt as a percentage of gross domestic product. Our… Continue reading More Debt Is The Problem, Not The Solution
MarketWatch.com – Maybe the best market-timing system ever After neatly sidestepping most of the May-June correction, this system became 100% long during the last week of June — just in time for the explosive rally that soon ensued. And, then, the system went back to 100% cash at last Friday’s close, thereby avoiding the big… Continue reading Trading The First Day Of The Month
The Wall Street Journal – Raters Put U.S. on Notice Credit rating agencies moved closer to an unprecedented downgrade of the U.S. government’s debt amid deteriorating talks in Washington, with President Barack Obama abruptly walking out of a key meeting Wednesday with Republicans seeking a deal to raise the federal borrowing limit. Moody’s Investors Service… Continue reading U.S. AAA Rating At Risk
<Click on chart for larger image> The Financial Times – Lex: Greece: time for a haircut How insolvent is Greece? Barclays Capital estimates that Athens would need to run a primary surplus of 7.4 per cent of gross domestic product by 2015 to restore debt sustainability, but that the maximum achievable economically and politically is… Continue reading Greece
<Click on chart for larger image> MarketBeat (WSJ Blog) – Stock Funds: Where Is the Love? Though US equities remain near multiyear highs, investors continue to pull money from stock mutual funds. That raises the question of how stocks can hold their gains, or move even higher, if institutional investors have to sell to pay… Continue reading Investors Continue To Pull Money From Stock Funds
<Click on chart for larger image> The Wall Street Journal – How to Save the Euro The ECB would like to see everyone’s sovereign debt guaranteed. But the EU lacks a credible means of doing that. So instead it has resorted to ad hoc rescues, none of which has come close to stopping the dreaded… Continue reading Save The Euro