The Wall Street Journal – China’s Inflation Rises 4.9% China’s consumer prices rose 4.9% in January from a year earlier, prompting worries that the world’s second-largest economy is falling behind in the fight against inflation, as are other countries in Asia. While the increase in the consumer price index, which was faster than December’s 4.6%,… Continue reading Chinese Inflation
Zero Hedge (Blog) – Deutsche Bank Suspends New Issuance Of Double Long Agricultural ETF DAG This one caught us by surprise. Today, Deutsche Bank announced it was suspending new issuance in the PowerShares Agriculture Double Long ETF, the DAG. What is odd, is that unlike last week’s announcement by Barclays that it would start unwinding… Continue reading Another Levered ETF Bites The Dust
The Financial Times – Lex: US budget: economical with the truth President Barack Obama has kicked off the 2012 budget. The reaction in Washington and beyond was predictable. Everyone has a view on the proposed spending cuts and whether they are deep enough. And what about the assumptions behind the forecasts: too optimistic or pessimistic?… Continue reading Examining The Budget
<Click on chart for larger image> Bloomberg.com – Geithner Quietly Tells Obama Debt-to-GDP Cost Poised to Increase to Record Barack Obama may lose the advantage of low borrowing costs as the U.S. Treasury Department says what it pays to service the national debt is poised to triple amid record budget deficits. Interest expense will rise… Continue reading Debt To GDP
The Financial Times – Britain would have fared better in the euro While the euro economies have been lashed to the mast of a single monetary policy, Britain’s free-floating currency and flexible interest rates have allowed it to weather the global storms. Well, not quite. Here, sadly, the save-the-pound brigade hit something of a snag.… Continue reading Should Britain Have Joined The Euro?
The Wall Street Journal – Commodities Boomed, but Not for Street When commodity prices surged last year, one segment of the market missed out on the action: big Wall Street banks. Gold, copper and cotton hit record highs in 2010, and investors piled into the market. But Wall Street’s revenue from commodities, generated from helping… Continue reading Commodities
The Financial Times – Largest bond fund cuts US government holdings The world’s largest bond fund sharply cut its exposure to US government-related debt in January, before US bond yields rose this month to their highest level in almost a year. Pimco’s Total Return Fund, run by Bill Gross, a founder of Pimco, reported that… Continue reading Bill Gross Shies Away From Treasuries
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Barron’s – Despite Dissent, QE2 Sails On Some Fed officials question the need to keep buying bonds, but the program is likely to continue Mixed messages from the Federal Reserve about its bond-buying program this past week sparked a renewed, lively debate in financial markets about the Fed’s future plans for its “quantitative easing” effort.… Continue reading Is The Market Worried About Inflation?
<Click on chart for larger image> Zero Hedge (blog) – A Tale Of Two Inflations: Why US CPI Is Flawed And Why Bernanke Will Maintain ZIRP As Revolutions Rage or all those wondering why the Federal Reserve will likely never hike rates on the basis of undisputed surging food and energy prices, here is the… Continue reading Why Bernanke Does Not Care About Food Inflation
Zero Hedge (blog) – Fed’s Losses Since The Start Of QE2: $76,814,152,246.00 How do you hedge the interest rate risk of a $2.5 trillion dollar fixed income portfolio that has a modified duration of 4 and is levered 50 to 1? Easy if you’re Chairman VaR-be-damned Burnbanke – just tuck a few sentences inside a… Continue reading The Federal Reserve’s QE2 Losses
The Wall Street Journal – Threat Builds on the Margins Companies’ Profitability Comes Under Pressure From Rising Commodity Prices This earnings season has seen a much-welcomed return to revenue growth, giving investors another reason to push stocks to two-year highs. But beneath the surface lurks a fresh worry: For many companies, the cost of raw… Continue reading Earnings