With Larry Summers’ withdrawal from consideration for Fed chairman, Janet Yellen could wind up leading the board. How well do you know Janet Yellen? Here are some quotes that will give you an idea of her take on monetary policy. The first is from the John Hussman in his Weekly Market Comment, and the second is from Young Research at Global Investment Strategy. Hussman on Janet Yellen: We now face the prospect of Janet Yellen, who in October 2005, at the height of the housing bubble, delivered a speech effectively proposing that monetary policy could mitigate any negative economic … [Read more...]
Utilities Investing: A Compelling Long-Term Opportunity
In our view, investing in utilities offers a compelling opportunity to long-term investors. Utilities are regulated monopolies that sell some of modern life’s most basic necessities—electricity and water. Utilities’ monopoly status gives them the opportunity to earn guaranteed returns that are set by local regulators. As a result, utilities are one of the most stable and enduring businesses in America. And they offer some of the market’s highest dividend yields to boot. Interesting Facts For Utilities Investing In 2011 there were 144.5 million electrical customers in the United States. — … [Read more...]
Monetary Dove Thinks Bernanke Should Taper
Even the most misguided monetary doves are finding reasons to hate quantitative easing. Bloomberg’s Matthew Klein explains why Michael Woodford, pioneer of the low-rate promises many central banks have adopted (including the Fed), thinks the Fed should taper its purchases of bonds. For Woodford, the most important point is that the Fed's balance sheet cannot keep growing without imposing costs on the financial system and broader economy -- even when inflation is low and unemployment is high. While Woodford didn't explicitly tell me what those costs were, a possible explanation can be found in … [Read more...]
Smart Money Bailing Out of the Market
Since the spring of this year, the Smart Money Index (description below) and the Dow Jones Industrial Average have diverged significantly. This isn't normal as the two track each other closely most of the time. With the smart money heading for the exits, investors should be cautious. Bloomberg: The Smart Money Flow Index is calculated by taking the action of the Dow in two time periods: the first 30 minutes and the close. The first 30 minutes represent emotional buying, driven by greed and fear of the crowd based on good and bad news. There is also a lot of buying on market … [Read more...]
China Catches Province Red Handed in Economic Data Fakery
For years we have taken a skeptical view of China’s reported growth rates and overall economic story-line. In stories on inflation, fraud, over capacity, real estate, data inconsistencies, and more, we've raised alarms over China’s economic time-bomb. It seems the problems have gotten so bad that even China’s government has been forced to recognize them and report them. The National Bureau of Statistics announced Thursday that Luliang county had over inflated its industrial output by 158% in the first half of the year. That kind of fraudulent reporting makes investing in China like … [Read more...]
Bank Capital, More Needed
Long before Basel meetings and the Federal Reserve, America’s banks had figured out the bank capital ratios that worked best for them. In 1834 that was 47.7%. Today, even in generous risk adjusted terms bank capital ratios are low at 11.1% historically according to the FDIC. A common criticism of economic policies during the 1800s was that recessions were deeper and more frequent. That may be true, but they were also faster and periods of growth were stronger. The long, drawn out recoveries we see today could be a result of over-leveraging and too little bank capital—drawing too much of … [Read more...]
VIDEO: Risk of Weakening Housing Market: Shiller
CNBC: Robert Shiller, Case-Shiller Index co-founder, breaks down the latest numbers on housing, with the "Squawk on the Street" crew. … [Read more...]
Fed Economist Smacks Down Keynesian Blinder on Deficit
After Alan Blinder recently wrote a spectacularly Keynesian piece in the Wall Street Journal op-ed section arguing for more deficit spending, VP and Economic Advisor of the St. Louis Fed, Daniel Thornton eviscerated Blinder’s claims in a short report. Below are some quotes from Thornton in response to Blinder’s claims that short term deficit spending increases will increase output without affecting long term growth. Additional deficit spending need not increase output for two reasons. First, increased deficit spending increases the supply of bonds, which reduces bond prices and increases … [Read more...]
Flash Freeze: Mark Cuban says it Wasn’t Just a Tech Snafu: VIDEO
What Caused the NASDAQ Flash Freeze? On August 22, the NASDAQ stock exchange was hit by some kind of electronic malfunction. Trading was brought to a halt in an embarrassing display for NASDAQ and a possible sign of deeper problems in the way the exchange is run. NYSE and NASDAQ Debate Cause of Flash Freeze After the so-called "Flash Freeze" stopped trading on the NASDAQ, days later executives from NASDAQ and the NYSE are blaming each other for the problems. Meanwhile Mark Cuban is blaming some kind of cyber attack. MarketWatch reported that: Five days after a glitch caused a three-hour … [Read more...]
Durable Goods Drop: Good or Bad for Stocks?
Durable goods orders cratered last month. The Bloomberg analyst poll had predicted a drop of 4%, but the final report showed a shocking decline of 7.3% (chart below). The question is, will a drop in durable goods orders scare some of the bullish investors into pulling back from the markets, or will it spur them on in hopes of an extension to the Federal Reserve’s quantitative easing? … [Read more...]
- « Previous Page
- 1
- …
- 81
- 82
- 83
- 84
- 85
- …
- 116
- Next Page »