CNBC – Insider Selling Volume at Highest Level Ever Tracked The overwhelming volume of sell transactions relative to buy transactions by company insiders over the last six months in key leading sectors of the market is the worst Alan Newman, editor of the Crosscurrents newsletter, has ever seen since he began tracking the data.
The Wall Street Journal – As Earnings Bubble Over, a Rally May Be Baked In The third-quarter earnings season has helped the stock market find its footing again. But a solid foundation still is lacking. About a third of S&P 500-stock index companies have turned in earnings, and the results once again look impressive. As… Continue reading Q3 Earnings: Gamed And Useless Statistics
As the bottom panel of the chart below shows, the volume of S&P 500 stocks traded across all exchanges has turned higher during the most recent stock market rally that started in late August. Many would argue that volume equals conviction, but a deeper look into these volume figures shows that this is not a… Continue reading Does Volume Equal Conviction?
FT Alphaville (FT Blog) – The US Treasury market is not enough It’s less than two weeks ’till the day markets expect a US QE2 announcement. And expectations are intensifying ahead of November 3. RBC Capital Markets, for instance, expects the Federal Reserve to purchase about $113bn worth of US Treasuries per month, about the… Continue reading Are There Enough Treasury Notes/Bonds For QE2?
Fed Foreclosure Real Time Economics (WSJ Blog) – Fed, Bernanke Detail Response to Foreclosure Crisis The U.S. Federal Reserve presented a report detailing its efforts to help Americans cope with the foreclosure crisis, and Chairman Ben Bernanke said in a speech that federal banking regulators expect preliminary results of their review of the nation’s latest… Continue reading The Federal Reserve Addresses The Foreclosure Mess
Bloomberg.com – Bernanke Asset Purchases Risk Unleashing 1970s Inflation Genie For the second time since he became chairman in 2006, Ben S. Bernanke is leading the Federal Reserve into uncharted monetary territory. Bernanke next week is likely to preside over a decision to launch another round of large-scale asset purchases after deploying $1.7 trillion to… Continue reading Betting On Inflation With Negative TIPS Yields
Bloomberg.com – Bernanke Asset Purchases Risk Unleashing 1970s Inflation Genie For the second time since he became chairman in 2006, Ben S. Bernanke is leading the Federal Reserve into uncharted monetary territory. Bernanke next week is likely to preside over a decision to launch another round of large-scale asset purchases after deploying $1.7 trillion to… Continue reading Is QE2 A Good Idea?
Bloomberg.com – Shrinking Bank Revenue Signals Dawn of `Worst’ Growth Decade Shrinking revenue at U.S. banks, led by Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Citigroup Inc., may continue to fall as the industry heads into what could be its slowest period of growth since the Great Depression. After the six largest U.S. banks posted record revenue… Continue reading U.S. Banks Woes
Telegraph.uk (UK) – UK economy grows twice as fast as predicted GDP expanded 0.8 per cent, well above the 0.4 per cent predicted by economists, as the prospects of a double dip recession receded. The latest figures improve the chances that Britain will be able to withstand the effects of the Government’s austerity package and… Continue reading Growth In The U.K.
Bloomberg.com – Treasury Shields Citigroup as Deletions Undercut Disclosure The late Bloomberg News reporter Mark Pittman asked the U.S. Treasury in January 2009 to identify $301 billion of securities owned by Citigroup Inc. that the government had agreed to guarantee. He made the request on the grounds that taxpayers ought to know how their money… Continue reading The U.S. Government Protects Citigroup
<Click on chart for larger image> MarketBeat (WSJ Blog) – Greek Issues Continue to Churn This morning Greek spreads are widening and the cost to insure against a Greek default is on the rise. Several reasons for this recent spate of bad Greek news. For starters, Mohamed El-Erian, CEO and CIO of bond king Pimco,… Continue reading Greece Is Still A Problem