<Click on chart for larger image> Pragmatic Capitalism ( Blog) – Small Investor Bullish Sentiment Soars To 3 Year High Small investor sentiment has soared to new 2010 highs and hit levels not seen since August 2009 when stocks had rallied 50% off the March 2009 lows in a near straight line. To the small… Continue reading Bullish Sentiment Soars
The Washington Post – Fearing a soaring deficit, many analysts favor letting Bush tax cuts expire The tax cuts at the heart of a fierce pre-election battle on Capitol Hill were designed when the economy was booming, the federal budget was in surplus and George W. Bush was campaigning for president on a promise to… Continue reading Should The Bush Tax Cuts Expire Because Of The Deficit?
<Click on chart for larger image> Barrons.com – Recovery Evident Mainly to Statisticians THE GREAT RECESSION IS OVER, and it’s news because, except for the stock market, it’s far from obvious. The National Bureau of Economic Research Monday declared the recession that began in December 2007 ended in June 2009, making it the longest since… Continue reading Household Net Worth And The Recovery
Project Syndicate- Robert Shiller: Seven More Years of Hard Times? The research by the Reinharts and Rogoff is an expansion and generalization of many people’s informal economic thinking, which often compares the present with stories of major past episodes. Ever since the current crisis began in 2007, many people have been wondering if the Great… Continue reading Robert Shiller Speaks
The Washington Post – Ally Financial legal issue with foreclosures may affect other mortgage companies The reason may be the sheer volume of the documents he had to hand-sign: 10,000 a month. Stephan had been at that job for five years. How the nation’s foreclosure system became reliant on the tedious work of a few… Continue reading The Paperwork Involved With Foreclosures Becomes Even More Tedious
The New York Times – The Long View of China’s Currency But there is also no question that China’s currency remains undervalued, probably by 20 percent or so. The economics are simple enough. The huge demand for Chinese goods should be driving up the price of its currency, but Beijing has been intervening to prevent… Continue reading China’s Currency Remains Undervalued
The Wall Street Journal – Summers to Step Down Lawrence Summers, the economist who helped design and secure President Barack Obama’s top economic policy priorities, will return to Harvard University at the end of the year. Mr. Summers will be the third top economic official to leave the administration, following the president’s first budget chief… Continue reading Goodbye Larry Summers
Bloomberg.com – Geithner Says U.S. Banks Can Use Profits to Meet Capital Rules Geithner said the international capital standards known as Basel III, due to be agreed on this year by the Group of 20 nations, will require banks around the world to hold “substantially” more capital. He made the comments in prepared testimony for… Continue reading Basel III
The Wall Street Journal – Slump Over, Pain Persists It’s official: The 2007-2009 recession, which wiped out 7.3 million jobs, cut 4.1% from economic output and cost Americans 21% of their net worth, marked the longest slump since the Great Depression. The end of the recession occurred in June 2009, 18 months after the economy… Continue reading The Recession Is Officially Declared Dead
The Wall Street Journal – Odds-On Uncertainty as the Fed Convenes Will they or won’t they? That’s the question as the Federal Reserve gathers Tuesday for a meeting that will help shape the next phase of U.S. monetary policy. Unlike times past, though, the question doesn’t relate to whether the Fed will raise or lower… Continue reading The Federal Reserve Meeting
Chart courtesy of TheChartStore.com The Financial Times – Lex: US bank failures Awaiting reports of bank closures has become something of a Friday evening ritual in some corners of the US financial market. Last week was worse than average. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation shut six institutions, bringing the year’s total to 125. Though still… Continue reading Bank Failures