MSN/Money – Why Berkshire and Buffett never lose The venerated investor employs fuzzy financial reporting that gives his investment vehicle an ‘intrinsic’ value richer than what the market’s willing to pay Like most big-shot investors or Wall Street CEOs, Warren Buffett doesn’t get overly worked up about quarterly earnings — except when they’re good. Put… Continue reading Buffett
Bloomberg.com – Fed Focusing on Inflation Expectations The cue for the Federal Reserve to start withdrawing its record monetary stimulus may be a measure of its own credibility: inflation expectations. Expectations for annual consumer-price gains have jumped by 43 percent to 2.10 percentage points since the central bank began its second round of asset purchases… Continue reading Key Economic Measures Used By The Federal Reserve
The Associated Press – Once bullish, contrarian Jim Grant likes cash now Q: What’s your view of the stock market? A: The Federal Reserve has unilaterally taken it upon itself to levitate asset prices. It is suppressing interest rates. When you’re not getting anything on your savings, you are inclined to go out and buy… Continue reading Cash Is King!
The Daily Show Tags: Daily Show Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,The Daily Show on Facebook — A bonus from this past Saturday Night Live – Ben Bernanke gets interviewed on the Barry Gibb Talk Show.
Comment As we detailed in this week’s TIC Update, China is dangerously close to becoming a net seller of U.S. assets on a 12-month rolling basis. Even their net purchases of U.S. Treasuries seem to be plummeting towards nothing. If the Chinese are not buying Treasuries, then who is? The charts below detail: Foreign buying… Continue reading What Foreigners Buy U.S. Treasuries?
<Click on chart for larger image> The Financial Times – David Pilling: Why Beijing must end inflation – or else There’s one extreme method of dealing with inflation. That is to ban it. This month, Unilever agreed to pay a fine of $300,000 after China’s National Development and Reform Commission accused the Anglo-Dutch company of… Continue reading Chinese Inflation
The Financial Times – Chinese set new standard in buying gold China overtook India to become the largest market for gold bars and coins in the first quarter of this year, as rising inflation inspired a surge in bullion investment. Chinese investors bought 93.5 tonnes of gold between January and March in the form of… Continue reading Chinese Gold Buying
<Click on chart for larger image> The Wall Street Journal – IEA: More Oil Needed Urgently The world oil market urgently needs extra supplies to prevent economic damage to importing countries that could derail the global recovery, the governing board of the International Energy Agency said. The governing board called on oil producers to increase… Continue reading Crude Oil/Gas Prices
The Financial Times – Gillian Tett: Watch out for tail risks hanging over Treasuries Three years ago, investors received a brutal lesson in why it can be risky for banks or other financial institutions to fund long-term holdings with short-term debt. But could it be time for investors to relearn that concept now in relation… Continue reading Risk
The Telegraph (UK) – European Central Bank threatens to pull the plug on Greek lending The European Central Bank has threatened to stop lending to banks using Greek government bonds as collateral if Athens changes the terms of the debt, a move which could bring down the country’s banking system The eurozone’s central bank has… Continue reading Greece
<Click on chart for larger image> The New York Post – John Crudele: Think prices are high? Just wait ’til summer Prepare yourself for a summertime inflation shock. An expert who helps put together the government’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) says that the closely-watch inflation gauge could rise abnormally “after June.” In a phone conversation… Continue reading CPI Is A Lie!
The Economist – The housing market: The darkest hour Signs of hope among the gloom AT THE ripe old age of five years, America’s housing bust is still very much alive and kicking. House prices dropped 3.3% in the year to February according to the S&P/Case-Shiller index, the fastest decline since November 2009. The Federal… Continue reading Terrible Housing Market