Bloomberg.com – Mark Gilbert: Davos Man Looks to East to See Economic Future So when Diamond travels to Davos to hobnob with his fellow Masters of the Universe at the World Economic Forum’s annual shindig, the theme set by the event’s organizers — “Shared Norms for the New Reality” — will be wildly inappropriate. While… Continue reading Davos Man Is Coming
The Financial Times – Peter Oszag: America must brace itself for turbulence America is experiencing the hard slog of recovering from the financial crisis. Prospects have turned more positive over the past two months. But a year ago growth was picking up too – and then it stalled, at about the same time Greece’s fiscal… Continue reading Oszag Speaks
Below is a chart of muni outflows (bottom panel in green). The rolling 4-week sum of net new cash flows are worse now than they were during the height of the 2008 panic when prices were plunging and the auction rate securities market blew up. Bond Buyer – Funds Lose $25 Billion In 9 Weeks… Continue reading Is Bad Press Driving Muni Outflows? Can It Become Self-Fulfilling?
The chart below shows the percentage of S&P 500 companies that have beat quarterly earnings expectations. Every quarter since 1998, the majority of companies have beat expectations. We have called quarterly earnings “gamed and useless statistics” as the only way companies can consistently beat expectations 75% of the time is if they are manipulating the… Continue reading Are Earnings Disappointing?
<Click on chart for larger image> Zero Hedge (Blog) – Biggest Market Sell Off In Months Coincides With Largest Domestic Equity Inflow In Years (Both Of Which Aren’t Saying Much) It is only fitting that the biggest equity sell off in stocks in almost 2 months should coincide with the biggest equity inflow in years… Continue reading Domestic Equities Finally See A Weekly Inflow
<Click on chart for larger image> The Wall Street Journal – Bank Results Push Down Stocks Stocks suffered their steepest one-day drop in nearly two months, but you wouldn’t have known it by looking at the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average. That index fell a mere 12.64 points, or 0.11%, to 11825.29. But the broader… Continue reading Watch The 10-Day Moving Average
Bond Buyer – Vallejo Plan Would Give Unsecured Creditors 5 to 20 Cents on the Dollar Unsecured creditors will receive 5 cents to 20 cents on the dollar for their claims under a reorganization plan Vallejo, Calif., filed Tuesday in federal court. The plan to exit bankruptcy outlines the reorganization of debt the city owes… Continue reading Is This A Sign Of Things To Come For Municipalities?
<Click on chart for larger image> The Wall Street Journal – Spain to Ramp Up Bailout of Banks Spain plans to pour billions more euros into its troubled savings banks and force them to be more open about their lending practices, people familiar with the matter said, an acknowledgment that previous efforts to fix the… Continue reading Spain
<Click on chart for larger image> The New York Times – For Greece, Buyback of Bonds Is Floated Analysts said on Wednesday that having Greece buy back its own devalued bonds could be an important step toward solving Europe’s sovereign debt crisis. A German government spokesman denied reports that such a plan was in the… Continue reading Is A Greek Restructuring In Our Future?
LewRockwell.com – Dallas Fed President Attacks Ron Paul Those lawmakers who advocate “Ending the Fed” might better turn their considerable talents toward ending the fiscal debacle that has for too long run amuck within their own house. The Fed does not create government debt; fiscal authorities do. ~ Richard Fisher (Jan. 12, 2011) When the… Continue reading The Federal Reserve Fights Back Against Ron Paul