The Economist – A cost-benefit analysis: How to judge whether deregulation is going too far Donald Trump’s regulatory policy is a strange mix of thoughtful and dangerous CONSPIRACY theorists who support President Donald Trump fulminate against the so-called “deep state” that is trying to thwart him. The federal bureaucracy of Washington, they believe, is the main… Continue reading More On Deregulation
The Financial Times – Central bankers face a crisis of confidence as models fail The new masters of the universe are struggling to understand what makes a modern economy tick and their actions could prove harmful Central bankers usurped the titans of Wall Street as the masters of the universe almost a decade ago. They rescued… Continue reading The Fed’s Broken Models
The Wall Street Journal – Trump Interviews Stanford Economist John Taylor for Fed Chairman Job The president has said he wants to make a decision on Fed leadership in the coming weeks President Donald Trump is nearing a decision on whom to pick to lead the Federal Reserve, and met Wednesday with one of four candidates,… Continue reading The Race For Fed Chair
MarketWatch.com – S&P 500 is poised to make uncanny stock-market history—for doing almost nothing The broad-market benchmark hasn’t seen a 3% decline since Nov. 7, 2016—the longest stretch since 1996 How quiet is this record-setting stock market? By at least one measure, the S&P 500 index is on pace to register is lengthiest period of quiescence… Continue reading Stocks Never Go Down!
The Financial Times – Record $6.6bn flows into global equity funds Investors increase appetite for geographical diversification Investors poured a record amount of money into global equity funds over the past week, as a host of regional risks, coupled with broad economic growth, increased their appetite for geographical diversification. Funds that invest in stock markets across… Continue reading Record Inflows Into Global Stock Funds
Fox Business – Central Bankers Use Moment of Calm to Debate How to Fight the Next Crisis Mr. Draghi said that negative interest rates, an untested policy for the ECB until 2014, had been a success, and that the decision to push the ECB’s target rate into negative territory hadn’t hurt bank profitability as critics… Continue reading Negative Rates, A Permanent Policy Tool?
Brookings – Ben Bernanke: Temporary price-level targeting: An alternative framework for monetary policy In sum, a temporary price-level target, invoked only during ZLB episodes, appears to have many of the benefits of ordinary price-level targeting. It would preserve the commitment to price stability. Importantly, it would create the expectation among market participants that ZLB episodes will… Continue reading Bernanke Talks Monetary Policy
CNBC – Goldman’s global equity chief sees signs of a market top, but says investors shouldn’t worry Goldman Sachs has sought to reassure investors after seeing warning signals of a market peak. The investment bank has built a “Bear Market Risk Indicator” to gauge when a market may have topped out. This factors in valuations, ISM Manufacturing… Continue reading Is Goldman Turning Bearish On Stocks?
The Wall Street Journal – ECB Official Warns About Impact of Extending Bond-Buying Programs Comments underline differences of opinion within the central bank on when to withdraw stimulus measures Central banks risk destabilizing the financial system if they extend bond-buying programs for too long, a top European Central Bank official warned Thursday. The comments—just as the… Continue reading The ECB Is Worried About Extending Its Bond Buying Program
Bloomberg View – David Ader: Logic Doesn’t Work With Bonds and U.S. Deficits Larger deficits mean more Treasuries. But is that really bearish for interest rates? The chart above was provided by Ian Lyngen and Aaron Kohli, the fixed-income strategists at BMO Capital Markets. (This is something Ian and I put together conceptually when we worked… Continue reading Deficits And Treasuries
Bloomberg View – Conor Sen: Don’t Worry About Inflation. Solve the Housing Shortage. The Fed is pre-emptively raising interest rates so the economy doesn’t overheat. But overheating is not the current problem As millennials age into their family-forming years, their tastes are shifting, and the American consumer industry is ready to appeal to them. But while stories… Continue reading Fixing The Housing Shortage
CNBC – Bitcoin’s market value is now larger than Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley The market capitalization of bitcoin hit $96.7 billion Bitcoin’s market capitalization has surpassed major stocks such as Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, after the cryptocurrency hit an all-time high on Friday. The virtual currency hit a record high of $5,856.10 in the early… Continue reading Bitcoin’s Market Cap