Not so fast in Italy. Updated post-election polls show Berlusconi's coalition leading in Senate races. The FTSE MIB (EWI) gives up nearly half of earlier gains, now +2%. [View news story]
It looks like their appetite for self destructive voting matches our own.
How much debt can the U.S. handle? A new paper quantifies an 80% public debt to GDP ratio - where the U.S. is right now - as the point at which a nation reaches a potential tipping point; once a nation has debt above that level, it becomes vulnerable to the kind of self-reinforcing vicious cycles that have crippled others. Two responses from Fed officials see the analysis as simplistic and eurocentric. [View news story]
Two things - if they admit the truth about what's going on, they will rapidly become ex-Fed officials and PhD should be replaced by the more descriptive PF'D up.
Outflows from the GLD hit $1B in January and have accelerated in February, now summing to $3.1B YTD. Bulls may take heart - the last time the GLD suffered outflows was mid-summer 2012, just ahead of a big rally in gold prices. AUM in GLD was $72B at January's end. [View news story]
I think they are really just getting tired of all the converting they have to do...I mean now they have to steal the peasants land, build some unneeded office space w/gov't loans to further GDP. Then you have to pilfer those funds through your family tied corporations, convert them to gold, and sneak them (and yourself) to a cooperating country. Now, they can just build up an investor base, Corzine the company, and be sitting w/metals free and clear.
The restaurant sector is on watch after a pre-earnings warning from Darden Restaurants (DRI) and a harsh downgrade on Wendy's (WEN) sets a negative tone. The picture being painted for 2013 is starting to get pretty consistent - margin pain and soft traffic trends. Other things to watch in 2013 for the sector: 1) The impact of higher payroll taxes. 2) The coming costs of the Affordable Care Act. 3) The push to raise the minimum wage. 4) Which chains can succeed in China and India? [View news story]
I believe there are companies getting exemptions but I'm not current on the fine points. Major tenets of the bill are still being 'interpreted' as sections of the Dem. powerbase discover they aren't coming out smelling good. The labor unions are the latest to suddenly be not happy.
Outflows from the GLD hit $1B in January and have accelerated in February, now summing to $3.1B YTD. Bulls may take heart - the last time the GLD suffered outflows was mid-summer 2012, just ahead of a big rally in gold prices. AUM in GLD was $72B at January's end. [View news story]
I can't wait until the Chinese get their version of the CME up and running. The commies will show our slackers how to really deep thrust an investor...and even make it look good in the stats.
There's more push-back from the doves as the Boston Fed's Eric Rosengren (FOMC voter) tells a crowd he disagrees with an academic paper making the rounds arguing excessive government borrowing and the Fed's asset purchases could lead to trouble down the road. What could possibly go wrong? [View news story]
He's right. The Japs use a far bigger number at their central bank. Who cares if they are measuring in yen? Until we have to state the balance sheet in scientific notation (or report on wider forms to hold the zeroes) we must keep printing.
The restaurant sector is on watch after a pre-earnings warning from Darden Restaurants (DRI) and a harsh downgrade on Wendy's (WEN) sets a negative tone. The picture being painted for 2013 is starting to get pretty consistent - margin pain and soft traffic trends. Other things to watch in 2013 for the sector: 1) The impact of higher payroll taxes. 2) The coming costs of the Affordable Care Act. 3) The push to raise the minimum wage. 4) Which chains can succeed in China and India? [View news story]
Man, this is getting confusing. The fast food guys need to hire more folks to goose the unemployment figures but cut everyone's hours so they don't count as full time and still pay a higher minimum wage and provide some heathcare (or pay the fine) but then the workers can get food stamps and subsidies to go w/their free cell phones and housing..unless their gov't loans for college, that they no longer attend, are in arrears but they can show hardship or at least prove they voted for the Dems who keep this clusterfudge going.....grrrrr
The hawks have made some noise, now the doves get their say: QE is providing the economy a "much needed boost" and will be required deep into 2013 H2, says the San Francisco Fed's John Williams. "Unemployment is far too high and inflation is too low ... We need powerful and continuing monetary accommodation." Stocks are bouncing, but just a hair. [View news story]
Bennie will probably want to double the printing so there are no ill effects from the sequester
The countdown begins to the Fed trotting out members to walk back yesterday's FOMC minutes after the big miss on the Philly Fed Index. New Orders fell to -7.8 from -4.3. Prices paid 8.9 vs. 14.7. Six-month indicators actually improved though, rising to 32.1 from 29.2, the 3rd consecutive increase. (full report) [View news story]
They key points were that QE isn't providing many benefits other then to banksters and the almighty market. Oh yeah, and that the unwind is going to be a bit tricky
Gold's now in a clear downtrend, taking out new technical lows, hit by (3-month old) news big names are selling, and now the chart's starting to form the dreaded "death cross." All the gold bugs need for a perfect bullish setup would be Paul Krugman taking to the air to declare victory for all he believes ... check. GLD -1.7%. [View news story]
Then China will help themselves to another 1000 tons on the cheap
Gold's now in a clear downtrend, taking out new technical lows, hit by (3-month old) news big names are selling, and now the chart's starting to form the dreaded "death cross." All the gold bugs need for a perfect bullish setup would be Paul Krugman taking to the air to declare victory for all he believes ... check. GLD -1.7%. [View news story]
The Fed and JPM are driving down the price before the sequester hits. Should those talks fail, metals will take off. They are trying to lower the liftoff ramp....not to mention the silver futures outstanding are still sky high in a tight market (see Harvey). They may get smoked.
"This goes much much higher than me," says alleged Libor-fixing ringleader Tom Hayes in a text to the WSJ's David Enrich. Known as "Rain Man" for his brilliance and awkward social skills, Hayes has emerged as "the connective tissue" in banks' attempts to profit as he skipped from RBS to RBC (RY) to UBS, and finally to Citigroup (C). [View news story]
I think Singing is exactly what he plans to do. Wanna bet he suddenly has an accident?
European stocks close sharply lower as a corruption scandal threatens to engulf the Spanish PM and Berlusconi surges ahead of elections in Italy. The Stoxx 50 -3.1%, led by Italy -4.4%, and Spain -3.7%. Germany -2.4%. So much for hot Januarys. The now-weeklong slide in Europe has brought the Stoxx 50 back to about flat YTD. [View news story]
Wait for 11000 then. The last 3 years have been a Fed farce.
Added to the reasons why Fed policies are counterproductive is companies spending billions to buck up their pension schemes thanks to barely visible interest rates. It's simple math - as rates fall, liabilities rise, and companies must add funds. Ford will spend $5B shoring up its pensions this year, about as much as spent building plants last year. [View news story]
Back then you didn't have Benny crapping his pants everytime the market fell a few hundred points....and the Fed balance sheet wasn't 4 trill. Nobody is arguing that a subset of scumbags haven't made a killing by being on the receiving end of the Bernak's largesse.
Added to the reasons why Fed policies are counterproductive is companies spending billions to buck up their pension schemes thanks to barely visible interest rates. It's simple math - as rates fall, liabilities rise, and companies must add funds. Ford will spend $5B shoring up its pensions this year, about as much as spent building plants last year. [View news story]
If the value of the pension funds - not just the interest made on them -is sucking wind now, wait until the QE insanity ends and rates tick up. When the bond prices crater, it will be just a storyline in the armegeddon that sets in.
Not so fast in Italy. Updated post-election polls show Berlusconi's coalition leading in Senate races. The FTSE MIB (EWI) gives up nearly half of earlier gains, now +2%. [View news story]
How much debt can the U.S. handle? A new paper quantifies an 80% public debt to GDP ratio - where the U.S. is right now - as the point at which a nation reaches a potential tipping point; once a nation has debt above that level, it becomes vulnerable to the kind of self-reinforcing vicious cycles that have crippled others. Two responses from Fed officials see the analysis as simplistic and eurocentric. [View news story]
Outflows from the GLD hit $1B in January and have accelerated in February, now summing to $3.1B YTD. Bulls may take heart - the last time the GLD suffered outflows was mid-summer 2012, just ahead of a big rally in gold prices. AUM in GLD was $72B at January's end. [View news story]
The restaurant sector is on watch after a pre-earnings warning from Darden Restaurants (DRI) and a harsh downgrade on Wendy's (WEN) sets a negative tone. The picture being painted for 2013 is starting to get pretty consistent - margin pain and soft traffic trends. Other things to watch in 2013 for the sector: 1) The impact of higher payroll taxes. 2) The coming costs of the Affordable Care Act. 3) The push to raise the minimum wage. 4) Which chains can succeed in China and India? [View news story]
Outflows from the GLD hit $1B in January and have accelerated in February, now summing to $3.1B YTD. Bulls may take heart - the last time the GLD suffered outflows was mid-summer 2012, just ahead of a big rally in gold prices. AUM in GLD was $72B at January's end. [View news story]
There's more push-back from the doves as the Boston Fed's Eric Rosengren (FOMC voter) tells a crowd he disagrees with an academic paper making the rounds arguing excessive government borrowing and the Fed's asset purchases could lead to trouble down the road. What could possibly go wrong? [View news story]
The restaurant sector is on watch after a pre-earnings warning from Darden Restaurants (DRI) and a harsh downgrade on Wendy's (WEN) sets a negative tone. The picture being painted for 2013 is starting to get pretty consistent - margin pain and soft traffic trends. Other things to watch in 2013 for the sector: 1) The impact of higher payroll taxes. 2) The coming costs of the Affordable Care Act. 3) The push to raise the minimum wage. 4) Which chains can succeed in China and India? [View news story]
The hawks have made some noise, now the doves get their say: QE is providing the economy a "much needed boost" and will be required deep into 2013 H2, says the San Francisco Fed's John Williams. "Unemployment is far too high and inflation is too low ... We need powerful and continuing monetary accommodation." Stocks are bouncing, but just a hair. [View news story]
The countdown begins to the Fed trotting out members to walk back yesterday's FOMC minutes after the big miss on the Philly Fed Index. New Orders fell to -7.8 from -4.3. Prices paid 8.9 vs. 14.7. Six-month indicators actually improved though, rising to 32.1 from 29.2, the 3rd consecutive increase. (full report) [View news story]
Gold's now in a clear downtrend, taking out new technical lows, hit by (3-month old) news big names are selling, and now the chart's starting to form the dreaded "death cross." All the gold bugs need for a perfect bullish setup would be Paul Krugman taking to the air to declare victory for all he believes ... check. GLD -1.7%. [View news story]
Gold's now in a clear downtrend, taking out new technical lows, hit by (3-month old) news big names are selling, and now the chart's starting to form the dreaded "death cross." All the gold bugs need for a perfect bullish setup would be Paul Krugman taking to the air to declare victory for all he believes ... check. GLD -1.7%. [View news story]
"This goes much much higher than me," says alleged Libor-fixing ringleader Tom Hayes in a text to the WSJ's David Enrich. Known as "Rain Man" for his brilliance and awkward social skills, Hayes has emerged as "the connective tissue" in banks' attempts to profit as he skipped from RBS to RBC (RY) to UBS, and finally to Citigroup (C). [View news story]
European stocks close sharply lower as a corruption scandal threatens to engulf the Spanish PM and Berlusconi surges ahead of elections in Italy. The Stoxx 50 -3.1%, led by Italy -4.4%, and Spain -3.7%. Germany -2.4%. So much for hot Januarys. The now-weeklong slide in Europe has brought the Stoxx 50 back to about flat YTD. [View news story]
Added to the reasons why Fed policies are counterproductive is companies spending billions to buck up their pension schemes thanks to barely visible interest rates. It's simple math - as rates fall, liabilities rise, and companies must add funds. Ford will spend $5B shoring up its pensions this year, about as much as spent building plants last year. [View news story]
Added to the reasons why Fed policies are counterproductive is companies spending billions to buck up their pension schemes thanks to barely visible interest rates. It's simple math - as rates fall, liabilities rise, and companies must add funds. Ford will spend $5B shoring up its pensions this year, about as much as spent building plants last year. [View news story]