Reuters – Trump says no decision yet on Fed chair; ‘respects’ Yellen President Donald Trump said on Thursday that he has yet to make up his mind about who should succeed Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen when her term expires in February and said he has respect for the incumbent. “I do respect Chairman Yellen a… Continue reading Will Trump Reappoint Yellen?
Bloomberg Gadfly – Robots Are No Match for the Human Bond Trader The former head of Citigroup Inc., Vikram Pandit, reckons three out of 10 bank staff will be replaced by a machine. Deutsche Bank AG’s CEO John Cryan, meanwhile, has called for a “revolutionary spirit” among his troops as computers replace a “big number” of… Continue reading Human vs Machine Bond Traders
Bloomberg Business – Bitcoin Sinks as China Is Said to Order Exchange Halt This Month Cryptocurrency has tumbled 28% this week amid crackdown Bitcoin tumbled, heading for its worst week since January 2015, after people familiar with the matter said China aims to stop exchange trading of cryptocurrencies by the end of September. Regional Chinese regulators… Continue reading Bitcoin Selloff Continues
Bloomberg View – Mohamed A. El-Erian: Fed to Join Bank of England in Warning Against Complacency In this environment, it should come as no surprise that central banks have been eager to maintain considerable policy optionality and flexibility. After all, they too are puzzled by key economic relationships that they were confidently modeling not so long… Continue reading BOE Looks To Raise Rates
The Financial Times – Microsoft shows how corporate cash piles blur lines with Wall St The expansion in Microsoft’s short-term secured lending underscores its unusual role in the Treasury market. It also points to how the need of American companies to manage their large cash piles accumulated overseas — and which they are reluctant to… Continue reading More On Corporate Cash
MarketWatch – Greg Robb: Why the bond market isn’t freaking out from the Fed’s shift to quantitative tightening The Federal Reserve decision to start to shrink its balance sheet is expected to have a material influence on asset markets over time. Yet the bond market seems largely to have shrugged it off. In late July, the… Continue reading The Bond Market Shrugs Off The Fed
MarketWatch – Ditch the dollar if you’re betting on interest rate normalization, analyst says Investors are itching to see central banks raise their benchmark interest rates and are looking to data or central banker language to support these moves. The most important player is arguably the Federal Reserve, but traders might be better served in focusing… Continue reading Dollar Weakness
The Wall Street Journal – James Mackintosh: Inflation’s Low. That’s Not Enough To Justify Expensive Stock Markets Unfortunately, averages conceal a lot, and in this case they hide the truth. The truth is that what matters most to stock prices isn’t where inflation stands, but where it will stand in future compared with what is currently priced… Continue reading High Stock Valuation
Bloomberg View – MiFID Rules May Spur Money Manager Deals in Quest for Survival Regulations are increasing costs just as ETFs steal business The asset management industry has seen some of the biggest deals for years as traditional “active” firms unite against the popularity of “passive” funds that track indexes. The European Union’s revision of the… Continue reading Active vs Passive Funds And MiFID Rules
MarketWatch – Mark Hubert: Here’s how you’ll know the stock market’s slide is for real In truth, investors’ bullishness is a mile wide and an inch deep. As we’ve seen time and again in recent months, bullishness quickly gives way to bearishness at the first sign of trouble. Contrarian-minded investors believe a market top is… Continue reading Investor Sentiment
Wall Street Journal – Saudi Arabia Pushes OPEC on New Tack to Curb Oil Supplies While the cartel has cut crude production, exports have barely budged, a factor behind the prolonged price slump OPEC has cut nearly one million barrels a day of oil output in the past year. But that isn’t how the global crude… Continue reading OPEC Wants Another Bite at the Production Cut Apple