The most disturbing thing of all about the QE3 from the Fed, is the governors seem to be taking action in the face of mounting evidence of strong secular headwinds opposing their QE actions and risk taking. Read More
Is China’s GDP the New Libor?
A further sign of lower systemic risk, five year credit default protection on the four biggest banks in France and Spain has dropped anywhere from 10-20bps over the last week. Socgen has improved by over 100bps the last two months. While economically sensitive names like Caterpillar CAT, AK Steel AKS, Advanced Micro Devices AMD, Yum Brands YUM have moved wider by 35-200 bps in the last 45 days. Read More
Germany May Be on the Brink of Recession?
Article By Jeff Black and Jana Randow, Bloomberg Germany may be on the brink of recession after the sovereign debt crisis caused the economy to contract in the final quarter of 2011. Europe’s largest economy shrank “roughly” 0.25 percent in the fourth quarter from the third, the Federal Statistics Office in Wiesbaden said today in an [...]
Black Rock Says Europe’s Headed for a ‘Full-Fledged’ Recession
Article By Sree Vidya Bhaktavatsalam, Bloomberg Black Rock, the world’s biggest asset manager, said European nations including France and Germany are headed for a recession as the prolonged debt crisis has prompted companies to cut spending and stop hiring. “We now believe that we’re in for a full-fledged recession, including one in France and Germany, that [...]
Washington Week at a Glance: Dec. 5th – Dec. 9th
Major Actions This Week: White House On Monday, President Obama hosted European Council President Herman Van Rompuy, European Commission President José Manuel Barroso, and High Representative Catherine Ashton at the White House to discuss economic and national security issues. On Tuesday, the President hosted Prime Minister Mark Rutte of the Netherlands at the White House to discuss trade, investment, [...]
Bailout Expectations Built In: Warren
By: CNBC.com The guarantees offered by the US government to ensure the financial system does not collapse have changed the world forever because now expectations are that the same guarantees will be offered in major crises, Elizabeth Warren, the head of the Congressional Oversight panel on the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), told CNBC Friday. [...]
Roubini: Insolvent banks should feel market discipline
By Matthew Richardson and Nouriel Roubini | May 6, 2009 From the Financial Times: Joseph Schumpeter famously argued that the essence of capitalism was creative destruction, by which new economic structures are born from the rubble of older ones. The government stress tests on the 19 largest US banks, the results of which are due [...]
Warren Buffett’s ingenious little float.
By Lawrence G. McDonald It was 1967 when a New Bedford textile corporation in Massachusetts, suddenly upped and purchased National Indemnity, a substantial insurance operation out of Omaha, Nebraska. The textile mill was Berkshire Hathaway, and its owner, Mr. Warren Buffett stumped up $8.6 million, which was a sizeable amount of money in 1967, perhaps [...]