The Germans broke rank with the rest of the EU and suggested Greece should turn to the IMF for support. The euro (EUR) had rallied over the past couple of days after it seemed the EU finance ministers had agreed on a loan facility to back the Greek government. But Germany’s Angela Merkel threw a [...]
The dollar got a chance to shine a bit this morning in early European trading, snapping three days of gains for the euro (EUR). European finance ministers begin a two day meeting in Brussels this afternoon, but the German and French finance ministers damped speculation of a bailout for Greece. German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble [...]
It’s been a busy week in Athens. First, some 60,000 Greeks marched through the streets in response to government austerity measures — spending cutbacks and tax increases. The demonstrators ended up leaving the public services in disarray, crippled without workers. Afterward, the riots started… police used tear gas and the mob threw stones and Molotov [...]
The US government may be sitting on the best value portfolio around.
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Happy inauguration day! Today we begin with this little known factoid: For the first 143 years of the American Republic, presidents were inaugurated on March 4, the only day of the year that is also a command.
The date was moved up to Jan. 20 in 1932 when the activist president Franklin Delano Roosevelt couldn’t wait [...]
What a day the currencies had yesterday! The euro (EUR) gained ground all the way back to 1.3730 (but saw some profit taking at the end of the day) and all the other currencies followed in step… Now… There’s two ways to look at this… Either the euro is like a star that’s getting ready [...]
There’s good news and bad news…and a lot of news in between.
Consumers spent a little more than was expected of them. And manufacturing did a little better than expected too.
On the other hand, the federal government’s tax receipts plunged in the month of February…and bank lending is still contracting. Last week it shrank $33 billion [...]
The International Monetary Fund said it estimates the total Dubai debt at around $86 billion, not including what it terms ‘bilateral bank loans’.
‘Bilateral lending is a bigger concern to us since the scale of lending could be very large and data is practically non-existent,’ the bank said in an annual report.
The IMF also repeated its [...]
It sounds far-fetched but, as Dr. Ron Paul highlights in his weekly column, Americans have no insight into the operations of the Federal Reserve. Therefore, the Fed can covertly funnel US funds to wherever it decides. This could include, for example, Greece, as it inches ever closer to default.
From Texas Straight Talk:
“Is it possible that [...]
We are in the midst of one of the best quarterly earnings seasons on record.
More than four out of five companies are topping consensus estimates on profits. The S&P 500, that big index of America’s largest companies, is set to break a run of nine consecutive quarterly declines in profits.
This doesn’t mean stocks are a [...]
Bonds can be a boring business…right up until they’re not. Scanning the globe today, the theme is debt, and companies and nations desperate to deal with it.
Let’s recap. The easy target: Greece.
“If risks to Greece’s deficit targets materialize, then Greece will announce additional steps by mid-March,” said European Monetary Affairs Commissioner Olli Rehn yesterday.
Translation: The [...]
The Day of Reckoning is postponed, but not canceled. Markets in the US are closed today. Americans celebrate President’s Day, on which Bill offers some musings below. Trading across much of Asia is closed, too. Investors in China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia look to the heavens for guidance, wondering what the Lunar New [...]
Gerald Ford had the right idea.
The year was 1975. New York City was in financial trouble. It had to borrow to pay its operating expenses. And lenders were getting tough. So Mayor Abe Beame turned to Washington, begging for a bailout. But America still had a vestigial sense of financial integrity back then. The Big [...]
Well, the Greek story was big this week. ‘The Big Fat Greek Meltdown,’ as Justice Litle calls it. It pushed stocks and bonds down early in the week. By the end of the week it was pushing them up.
What happened in the meantime? Well, the euro-feds made it appear that they were going to do [...]
Similar to events at the early stages of the sub-prime crisis, the financial predicament of Greece is likely to blow over soon, especially once the unannounced details of the accord reached early today are acted upon. What was once a cradle of civilization now accounts for only 2.6% of European Union output, and the rest [...]
OK… Well, the “experts” that thought the trade deficit was going to narrow in December got their lunch handed to them yesterday, when not only did the trade deficit NOT narrow, but widened from $35 billion to $40 billion! Now that stinks! And… I’ll tell you right now, it will deduct from the 5.7% GDP [...]
Greece is the word…or at least it was during yesterday’s trading sessions in Europe and New York. Everywhere you looked, there was that word again…
“Euro Surges Against Dollar as EU Signals Support for Greece.”
“Canada’s Dollar Rises Most in Month on Prospect of Greece Aid.”
“US Stocks Rally on Growing Prospects for Bailout of Greece.”
“Corporate Credit Risk [...]
Chatter about Greece bailout rumors, a stronger dollar and $GOOG dominated the StockTwits stream this morning. Here’s a taste:
@stevenplace gave an awesome webinar on options yesterday. You can view it here:
A nice post on Blogonomics. Congrats to @footnoted who got bought by $MORN.
$GS just can’t get a break..
The manner in which rumors circulating [...]
There are rumors going ’round that, 1. There is a secret central bank meeting going on, and 2. That Germany is weighing bailout possibilities for Greece…
The latter really lit a fire under the risk assets yesterday, allowing stocks, currencies and commodities to enjoy a day in the sun, away from the shade the dollar was [...]
First, the politicians appeared on the comedy shows… and now the comedians and talking heads can themselves represent the political debate. The laugh-ability of politics is almost getting too serious, or the other way around? At least it’s often funny, like this memorable moment:
Jon Stewart: Once you allow in a vacuum of power, what will assume [...]
