<Click on chart for larger image> The Financial Times – CFTC data reveal day traders’ role in volatile oil markets The Commodity Futures Trading Commission has for the first time revealed that almost 95 per cent of US crude oil futures volume is generated by day trading or betting on arcane price relationships, suggesting long-term… Continue reading Day Traders And The Crude Oil Market
<Click on chart for larger image> Moodys.com – Rating Action: Moody’s downgrades Portugal to Ba2 with a negative outlook from Baa1 Moody’s Investors Service has today downgraded Portugal’s long-term government bond ratings to Ba2 from Baa1 and assigned a negative outlook. Concurrently, Moody’s has also downgraded the government’s short-term debt rating to (P) Not-Prime from… Continue reading Moody’s Downgrades Portugal
<Click on chart for larger image> The Wall Street Journal – Sellers Brace for New Mortgage Caps The federal government is readying its first retreat from the mortgage market, with the size of loans eligible for government backing set to decline in October. As an emergency measure three years ago, Congress raised to as high… Continue reading The New Jumbo Loan Limits
<Click on chart for larger image> Bloomberg.com – Treasuries Triple Global Returns With Primary Dealers Saying Time to Sell After failing to predict this year’s Treasury rally, Wall Street’s biggest bond traders are sticking to forecasts that government bonds will fall as the economy recovers and concerns over a European debt crisis recede. Yields on… Continue reading U.S. Treasuries
The Wall Street Journal – Greek Rescue Snarled by Sales Europe’s hopes for a significant contribution by private bondholders to a new bailout for Greece are fading, as it becomes clear that banks have sold off a substantial proportion of their Greek government-bond holdings despite pledges by some of the institutions not to do so.… Continue reading Greece
<Click on chart for larger image> Bloomberg.com – China Raises Rates to Counter Fastest Inflation Since 2008 China raised benchmark interest rates for the third time this year after inflation accelerated to the fastest pace since July 2008.The one-year deposit rate rises to 3.5 percent from 3.25 percent, effective tomorrow, the People’s Bank of China… Continue reading China Battles Inflation
The Wall Street Journal – Obama Calls for Debt-Limit Summit President Barack Obama called a budget-deficit summit Thursday at the White House, suggesting he and congressional leaders are moving closer to a deal that would clear the way for a vote to raise the government’s borrowing limit and avoid default. Mr. Obama, speaking at the… Continue reading The Debt Limit
The New York Times – Casey B. Mulligan: How to Create Jobs and Cut the Deficit After falling 9.3 million during the recession through July 2009, aggregate full-time employment fell another 1.8 million by the end of the year and remained below July 2009 levels at the end of 2010. Some people dismissed from their… Continue reading Employment
MarketWatch.com – Brett Arends: The next, worse financial crisis The last financial crisis isn’t over, but we might as well start getting ready for the next one. Sorry to be gloomy, but there it is. Why? Here are 10 reasons 8. Ben Bernanke doesn’t understand his job. The Fed chairman made an absolutely astonishing admission… Continue reading Scary Talk
<Click on chart for larger image> The Christian Science Monitor – The commodities bubble is about to burst Now, look at commodities. Months ago, industrial metals were on a tear. So were precious metals and crude oil. Silver, with a foot in the industrial camp and the other in the precious metals group, skyrocketed. Much… Continue reading Is The Commodities Bubble About To Burst?
None Today
Second Half Outlook Audio Link of Conference Call Webcast Handout A transcript of the June 30, 2011 conference call.