<Click on chart for larger image> Bloomberg.com – Roger Lowenstein: Debt Pyramid Scheme Now the Norm in America The tax compromise that the president, after protracted bargaining with Congress, signed into law Friday represents the worst of each party’s principles. Democrats agreed to forgo their insistence on raising taxes to narrow the widening budget deficit.… Continue reading Federal Finances
USA Today – Experts agree: Get over your fear and get back into stocks Five Wall Street heavyweights say it’s time for individual investors to shun the perceived safety of bonds — and get over their fear of the U.S. stock market — so they can take advantage of what they predict will be a… Continue reading TWO Covers That Signal A Top In Stocks?
Barron’s – Why the Fed Should Shop Till It Drops Despite heavy criticism of the Federal Reserve’s QE2 plan, Goldman Sachs’ chief economist says the central bank should buy still more bonds Few monetary policy moves by the Federal Reserve have elicited as much controversy as its decision early last month to engage in “quantitative… Continue reading Goldman Approves of QE2
Bloomberg.com – Bears Turn Bulls as U.S. Gains From Roiling Markets The U.S. may come out ahead in 2011 as policy makers from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke to Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao jockey for advantage in the world economy. U.S. growth is accelerating as the year ends, with economists, consumers and companies such… Continue reading World Markets
None Today
Comment The chart below shows nearly $400 billion in corporate credit has been issued over the past three months, nearly a record. Many have cited this surge as a sign that that the credit markets are healing, or even healed. <Click on chart for larger image> However, as the next three charts show, ABS issuance… Continue reading The State Of Credit
The Economist – Behold 2011, the year of sovereign shocks IF YOU want to know what to worry about in 2011, here’s a place to start. Sovereign-bond yields are rising—not just in beleaguered economies on the edge of the euro zone, but across much of the rich world. During the first two weeks of December… Continue reading What Does The Rise In Interest Rates Mean?
The Financial Times – Bond investors brace for rise in interest rates US retail investors are bracing for a rise in interest rates, mutual fund data from Lipper, the fund tracker, show. Funds that buy syndicated bank loans took in a record $890m in the latest week. Meanwhile, taxable bond funds are now experiencing their… Continue reading Interest Rates And Mutual Fund Flows
<Click on chart for larger image> Comment As the chart above shows, Spanish yields continue to rise, suggesting the situation is not getting better. Bloomberg.com – Ireland Credit Rating Is Cut by Moody’s; Outlook Negative Ireland’s credit rating was cut five levels by Moody’s Investors Service and further downgrades are possible as the government struggles… Continue reading Europe
<Click on chart for larger image> Bloomberg.com – Build America Boom Is Set to Bust After Busiest Issuance Week: Muni Credit Sales of Build America Bonds, which have enabled states and cities to borrow about $185 billion from investors around the world since last year, are drying up a week before the federally subsidized program… Continue reading Munis
The Wall Street Journal – CFTC Vote on Trading Curbs Stalls U.S. regulators Thursday released a broad proposal that seeks to curb speculative trading in oil, metals and other commodities, but held off voting on it in another setback for efforts to put in place Congress’s Wall Street overhaul. The new rules would limit the… Continue reading Speculative Trading
Reuters.com – Special Report: Is America the sick man of the globe? America is now seen at a similar crossroads to Germany a decade ago. Wells Fargo’s Silvia said the first thing the country needs is an “honest conversation” about the fact that unskilled manufacturing work will be done wherever labor is cheapest. “America cannot… Continue reading Labor In America