<Click on chart for larger image> Bloomberg.com – Oil Rises to 28-Month High on Libya, Middle East Supply Concern Saudi Arabia, the largest oil exporter and the biggest producer in the OPEC, has 4 million barrels a day of spare capacity, al-Naimi said at a press conference at the ministerial meeting of the International Energy… Continue reading Rising Crude Oil Prices
The Wall Street Journal – Unrest May Not Be Only Reason Funds Are Shying From Emerging Market That said, EM will be a tough habit for investors to break, especially as options for the yield-hungry in the developed markets are still constrained by loose monetary policy in most of them. And, as Nomura reminded us,… Continue reading Are Investors Moving Their Money Out Of Emerging Markets?
Zero Hedge (Blog) – A Visual Reminder Of US Social Stratification Below we once again bring to our readers attention, in easily digestible format, the dramatic schisms that continue to tear through the fabric of US society. And if there is anything that the revolutions in the Maghreb should have taught us by now is… Continue reading Income Disparity
Bloomberg.com – Merkel Says EU Leaders Weighing Extension of Greek Aid German Chancellor Angela Merkel said European Union leaders may be ready to extend Greece’s bailout program as part of a broader package to shore up faith in the euro, falling short of Greek calls to ease its lending terms. Merkel, speaking to reporters in… Continue reading Europe
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The Wall Street Journal – Irish Banks Behind ECB Lending Surge An unusual surge in overnight lending from the European Central Bank last week was connected to Ireland’s effort to wind down nationalized lenders Anglo Irish Bank Corp. and Irish Nationwide Building Society, a person familiar with the matter said. The two banks moved collateral… Continue reading The Mysterious ECB Borrower Is Revealed
<Click on chart for larger image> The Wall Street Journal – Why Investors Can’t Get More Cash Out of U.S. Companies Politicians have been carping about the more than $2 trillion in cash sitting idle in corporate coffers even as unemployment remains high. But much of that cash isn’t in the U.S.; it is abroad.… Continue reading Cash On The Sidelines
<Click on chart for larger image> Bloomberg.com – Japan’s Aa2 Outlook Changed to Negative by Moody’s on Debt Japan’s debt rating outlook was lowered to negative from stable by Moody’s Investors Service on concern that political gridlock will constrain efforts to tackle the biggest debt burden of any nation. Economic and fiscal policies “may not… Continue reading Japan Downgraded
The Associated Press – Ireland’s Leading Party Wants New Bailout Terms The leading party in Ireland’s national election campaign wants to spread the pain from the nation’s bank collapse to investors in bank bonds. There has been much talk in the campaign leading up to Friday’s national election about renegotiating the massive European Union/IMF bailout… Continue reading Why The European Debt Crisis Will Not Go Away
The Oil Drum (blog) – Why are WTI and Brent Oil Prices so Different? We have all heard at least a partial explanation as to why West Texas Intermediate (WTI) and Brent prices are so far apart. We have been told that the Midwest is oversupplied because of all of the Canadian imports, and the… Continue reading Crude Oil
The New York Times – Writing ‘Danger’ in Ever-Larger Letters In need of an antidote for my buoyant mood, I turned to a man whose outlook is as bleak as an ice storm — Robert Prechter, the veteran market strategist, who makes garden-variety bears look like pussycats. I last spoke to Mr. Prechter about six… Continue reading Doom And Gloom
Bloomberg.com – Spain’s Cajas Have $137 Billion of `Problematic’ Assets, Central Bank Says The total exposure of Spanish savings banks to real estate and building amounts to 217 billion euros ($297 billion), of which 100 billion euros ($137 billion) is classified as “potentially problematic,” the Bank of Spain said today. Bank of Spain Governor Miguel… Continue reading New Capital Requirements For Spain’s Cajas