The New York Times – Bruce Bartlett: Are We About to Repeat the Mistakes of 1937? Friday’s jobs report clearly indicates that the economy remains weak, yet the pressure to reverse stimulus and begin tightening fiscal and monetary policy has become overwhelming. The Federal Reserve has already ended its policy of quantitative easing, and many… Continue reading Will This Be 1937 All Over Again?
The Chicago Tribune – Realty trade group overreported Chicago home prices The Illinois Association of Realtors said Monday that the median price it reported for home sales within the city of Chicago was inflated in May and mistakes in its reports may go back more than three years . Errors in the reports can wrongly… Continue reading The Chicago Way – Lie About The State Of Housing
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The Financial Times – Time is of the essence, any US budget deal will do As the debt negotiators square off in Congress, much attention will focus on the size of the 10-year deal they come up with. As almost everyone agrees, there is much more risk of doing too little than too much given… Continue reading Why The Lack Of A Debt Ceiling Bill Could Be Bullish For Treasuries
FT Alphaville (FT Blog) – Where’s the biggest Italian exposure? Competition time. Which European banks have the greatest exposure to Italy? Give up? Here’s the answer, via Collins Stewart. By contrast, our Buy-rated BNP Paribas and Barclays have substantial exposures to Italy overall. Aside from trading exposures on its books outside Italy, BNP (TP EUR67)… Continue reading Who Owns Italian Debt?
Bloomberg.com – EU Revives Buyback Idea as Crisis Hits Italy European finance chiefs cast about for a strategy to halt Greece’s debt spiral, reviving previously discarded ideas and sharpening a dispute with central bankers as the rot spread to Italy. As exploding bond yields in Italy and Spain brought the crisis closer to the heart… Continue reading European Contagion
<Click on chart for larger image> The Wall Street Journal – U.S. Tackles Housing Slump The Obama administration is ramping up talks on how to revive the housing market, which is weighing on the economic recovery—and possibly the president’s re-election in 2012. Last year, advisers considered several housing-policy prescriptions but rejected them in favor of… Continue reading More Government Intervention In The Housing Market
<Click on chart for larger image> The Wall Street Journal – European Banks Grow Wary of Lending The euro-zone’s banks appear to be growing increasingly wary of lending to each other as the Continent’s financial crisis escalates. The European Central Bank reported Tuesday morning that the funds parked by banks in its overnight deposit facility… Continue reading European Banks Start Hoarding Their Cash
The Financial Times – Lex: Italy and the US On one side of the Atlantic, markets are making the eurozone riskier than it needs to be. On the other, they are treating the US as less risky than it is. Italy is the latest European pressure-point. The country’s credit default spread, measured by Markit, has… Continue reading Is The U.S. Being Given A Free Pass?
The Wall Street Journal – Alan Blinder: Our National Jobs Emergency Last Friday’s employment report landed with a loud thud. Only 18,000 net new jobs in June? How could that be? One Wall Street economist said he thought it was a misprint at first. He was not alone. The horrific June employment number made it… Continue reading Jobs
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Reuters – Exclusive: EU calls emergency meeting as crisis stalks Italy European Council President Herman Van Rompuy has called an emergency meeting of top officials dealing with the euro zone debt crisis for Monday morning, reflecting concern that the crisis could spread to Italy, the region’s third largest economy. European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet… Continue reading Is Italy Next?