MarketWatch – House-price gains cool slightly even as bubble questions stir: Case-Shiller U.S. home-price gains pulled back slightly but remained robust early this year, prompting questions about how sustainable such a streak can be. The S&P/Case-Shiller 20-city index rose 5.7% in the three-month period ending in April compared to a year ago, down two ticks from… Continue reading Home Prices Continue Higher
The Telegraph – Bank of England orders banks to set aside an extra £11.4bn over fears of rising consumer credit Banks have been ordered to put aside an extra £11.4bn to deal with any future economic slowdown as part of a major package of new rules designed to stop a lending boom turning into a… Continue reading Is The UK Heading Towards Another Banking Crisis?
Bloomberg Business – Fed’s Fischer Warns Against Complacency Over Stability Risks Asset prices reflect higher risk appetite, Fed’s No. 2 says Federal Reserve Vice Chairman Stanley Fischer pointed to higher asset prices as well as increased vulnerabilities for both household and corporate borrowers in warning against complacency when gauging the safety of the global financial system.… Continue reading Fed Fischer: Higher Asset Prices Increase Market Vulnerability
OPEN Webcast – Inflation, Uncertainty, and Financial Stability, Oh My! Comment In our latest webinar, Ben Breitholtz discusses the continued rise in concerns over uncertainty, financial stability and the business networks. Business news networks have been seen a rebound in coverage of uncertainty and financial stability when it comes to the Federal Reserve, which… Continue reading Inflation, Uncertainty, and Financial Stability, Oh My!
Comment Jim Bianco was on Jim Grant’s Interest Rate Observer Podcast discussing the yield curve, the Fed and Illinois. To listen to the interview, click below.
Barrons – Wells Fargo: Utilities Likely to Keep Lagging Utilities tend to underperform the S&P 500 late in an economic cycle; best to underweight them now Utilities had a rough week last week, falling nearly 2%. Plus, they have badly lagged the S&P 500 for the past month. Folks at the Wells Fargo Investment Institute expect… Continue reading Utilities in Focus
Bloomberg – Oil’s in a Bear Market, and Stocks Will Soon Follow A bottom oil price of $10 to $20 per barrel — the marginal cost of production in efficient locales — still seems valid. But when we throw out the energy sector, the remainder of the S&P 500 is still positively correlated with crude oil,… Continue reading Commodities Again Becoming a Useful Group of Diverse Assets
Bloomberg – Yuan Surges in Afternoon Trade Amid Talk PBOC Supported Currency PBOC may be keen to keep yuan around 6.8 per dollar China’s yuan surged both onshore and overseas amid speculation of central bank intervention and a decline in the dollar. The offshore currency jumped as much as 0.7 percent in a sudden afternoon spike,… Continue reading Potential Intervention in Chinese Yuan
Pension Partners – Charlie Bilello: Is This 1929 or 1997? The CAPE Ratio or “Shiller PE” just crossed above 30. In layman’s terms, what does that mean? Stock valuations in the U.S. are high. How high? Going back to 1871, the only periods in history with a CAPE above 30 were as follows (data from… Continue reading Is The Stock Market Overvalued?
The Wall Street Journal – Anxious Investors Try to Hedge Against a Big Selloff, Even as Good Times Roll Fears are growing over the potential for slowing growth, rising oil prices and mistimed rate cuts Stock volatility is near an all-time low and corporate profits have bounced back from a year ago, but investors are increasingly… Continue reading Bull Markets Climb A Wall Of Worry
The Wall Street Journal – Why Italy’s Bank Rescue Looks a Backward Step for Europe The sweetheart deal raises wider questions about state support for lenders Europe’s solution to the failure of two small Italian banks poses two big questions: why weren’t they dealt with under the tough new resolution regime and how did Intesa Sanpaolo… Continue reading Isn’t This Why We Have A Populist Movement?