Graph-of-the-Year Candidates
Donald Marron likes European interest rates. Click on the image to get a bigger version. Can you find three distinct subperiods?
Brad DeLong favors the U.S. gdp gap.
Finally, it's hard to argue against the payroll employment graph below (straight from FRED) and the comparison across recessions (courtesy of Calculated Risk).
Looking Up At 2001
In February 2001, U.S. payroll employment peaked at 132.5 million. The November 2011 figure of 131.7 million still falls 800,000 jobs short of the earlier peak.
Click on the chart for a larger version.
November Payroll Employment
Remember M1?
Money Supply M1 growth is now over 20% per year over a 12 month lag. M1 growth has touched 20% before, but not with excess reserves of $1.6 trillion. Where is M1 headed?
Click on the chart for a larger version.
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Mish’s Global Econ. Trend Analysis
"Thoughts on the great inflation/deflation/stagflation debate as well as discussions on commodities, currencies, interest rates, and policy decisions that affect the global markets.”
February 4, 2012, 5:34 pm, 948260
Greek default drama is much like the movie
Groundhog Day. If you prefer a quote from Yogi Berra instead, then please consider
It's déjà vu all over again.
Every day for weeks we have heard a "deal is close". Moreover, on multiple occasions at ...
February 4, 2012, 7:34 am, 948225
Inquiring minds note a stunning drop in the price for doing
God's Work. Last year Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein received a salary of a $600,000 as well as a stock bonus worth $12.6 million.
This year the base salary for doing God's work rose to $2 ...
February 3, 2012, 9:34 pm, 948210
Shortly after Dutch finance minister, said "We want no further delays" came news of further delays. The reason: Greek political parties all refuse to go along with more austerity measures.
Please consider
Greece’s leaders oppose new austerity measures
All three party leaders in Greece’s teetering national unity government ...
February 3, 2012, 1:34 pm, 948140
Quick Notes About the "Falling" Unemployment Rate
In the last year, the civilian population rose by 3,565,000. Yet the labor force only rose by 1,145,000. Those not in the labor force rose by 2,420,000.
In January, the Civilian Labor Force rose ...
February 3, 2012, 11:34 am, 948110
Untenable pension promises made by corrupt politicians to corrupt unions in an unholy alliance is about to sink another city. Please consider
Providence is facing bankruptcy
Rhode Island's capital city will be in bankruptcy by June if it doesn't get help resolving its financial crisis.
That was ...
February 3, 2012, 3:34 am, 948026
On January 30, 25 of 27 nations signed the Merkozy accord calling for strict budget discipline and "quasi-automatic sanctions" for nations that violate budget rules. Only the UK and Czech Republic refused to sign.
Following that ceremonious signing it took precisely two days for European bureaucrats to propose "Application ...
February 3, 2012, 1:34 am, 948020
American Airlines filed for bankruptcy in November 2011. Here is the question at hand:
Will Taxpayers Be On The Hook For American Airlines' Pensions?
American Airlines needs $18.5 billion to cover its pension promises to current and former employees, but it has only set aside ...
February 2, 2012, 5:34 pm, 947978
MarketWatch comments on the politics of
Getting Back to the Gold Standard
The legendary Wall Street writer, publisher of Grant’s Interest Rate Observer, has been mentioned by two of the rivals for the Republican presidential nomination. Newt Gingrich said if elected president, he’d name Grant to help run a ...
February 2, 2012, 3:34 pm, 947954
On January 29 Bloomberg reported
Bing Races to Beat Michigan Deadline for Union Detroit Deal
Democratic Mayor Dave Bing is racing to wrest concessions from 48 bargaining units to erase a $200 million deficit in the home of General Motors Co. and the cradle of the U.S. auto ...
February 2, 2012, 1:34 pm, 947932
As a temporary diversion from economic analysis, inquiring minds are watching an amazing video of swarming mini-drones.
Information Dissemination says
UAV Swarms Will Change Warfare Forever
Global Guerrillas ...
February 2, 2012, 7:34 am, 947838
Both Angela Merkel and the Bundesbank are walking an extremely fine line of economic policies and treaty arrangements that appear to be in violation of policy statements made by the German Supreme Court regarding transfer unions. Moreover, the Bundesbank president is now in what amounts to an open Feud with ...
February 1, 2012, 11:34 pm, 947809
The LTRO may have ignited the bond markets and the stock market but it did not do anything for bank lending. The New York Times reports
Survey of European Banks Shows a Sharp Cut in Lending
Banks in the euro area cut lending sharply at the end ...
February 1, 2012, 5:34 pm, 947761
Today, under guise of helping "responsible homeowners" president Obama published details of
Plan to Help Homeowners and Heal the Housing Market
Key Aspects of the President’s Plan as Presented
Broad Based Refinancing to Help Responsible Borrowers Save an Average of $3,000 per Year: The President’s plan ...
February 1, 2012, 3:34 pm, 947727
In a triumph of freedom and common sense over forced union slavery, the
Indiana Senate Sends Right-to-Work Bill for Governor Daniels’s Signature.
Indiana will become the nation’s 23rd right-to-work state after its Senate exempted nonunion employees from paying dues when working alongside their unionized colleagues.
The vote ...
February 1, 2012, 1:34 pm, 947695
Courtesy of Google Translate, please consider
French Consumption Drops Most Since 1997
Last year, consumption of French manufactured goods, food and energy fell by 0.5% on average, the largest drop since 1997. Even during the 2008-2009 recession, the decline was not as marked. December was particularly bad (- ...
February 1, 2012, 3:34 am, 947583
Last month Trim Tabs estimated December payroll growth was 38,000. ADP estimated payroll growth at 325,000. I estimated +78,000.
The BLS reported +200,000.
For details, please see
Nonfarm Payroll +200,000 ; Labor Force Drops Another 50,000 ; Those Not in Labor Force Rises by 194,000 ...
January 31, 2012, 9:34 pm, 947559
In a move sure to raise the ire of French President Nicolas Sarkozy, British Prime Minister David Cameron says
French banks would come to Britain to avoid tax.
In comments aimed squarely at Nicolas Sarkozy after the French president reportedly criticised British industry, Cameron said the concept of ...
January 31, 2012, 9:34 pm, 947558
Things are going so well in Greece (just one step away from a deal for weeks on end), that
Greek officials attack EU and IMF as debt talks stall
Greek officials launched a vociferous behind the scenes attack on European Union and International Monetary Fund negotiators as talks ...
January 31, 2012, 5:34 pm, 947523
I am a fan of Michael Hudson. I was pleasantly surprised to see him on Capital Accounts with Lauren Lyster a few days ago.
Capital Account is produced by RT. That stands for Russia Today. I have numerous emails criticizing me for ...
January 31, 2012, 1:34 pm, 947460
Best Business Blogs 2011
Strategist News presents the
Best Business Blogs 2011
This is our third year publishing this ranking. The business blogs field is getting more competitive than ever! Seth Godin continues to dominate the business blogosphere, while Guy Kawasaki and Robert Scoble still rule.
January 31, 2012, 1:34 pm, 947459
Courtesy of a Barclays Capital email here are the latest unemployment numbers in Europe.
Euro Area: +0.2 to 10.4% based on slight upward revisions in November, September, August. This was the 8th consecutive rise.
Austria 4.1% unchanged
Belgium: 7.2% unchanged
Finland 7.6% unchanged
France 9.9% +0.1
Germany: 5.5% -.1
Italy 8.9% ...
January 31, 2012, 5:34 am, 947349
I am amused to report
German Retail Sales Unexpectedly Fall in December
German retail sales fell unexpectedly in December, dropping 1.4 percent on a monthly basis in real terms, preliminary data showed on Tuesday.
The notoriously volatile indicator was down 0.9 percent on an annual basis. Economists polled ...
January 30, 2012, 7:34 pm, 947317
Last month, European banks tapped the ECB for €489bn in a long-term refinance operation dubbed LTRO. On February 29, another round of LTRO is coming up and expect banks to go for the gusto. Banks like cheap money to speculate and that is exactly what they will do.
The ...
January 30, 2012, 5:34 pm, 947298
Inquiring minds are watching Portuguese government bonds soar into the stratosphere, with record-high bond yields across the entire yield curve.
In all the images below, the numbers are accurate but the charts reflect yesterday. I have mentioned this to Bloomberg a number of times to no avail.
January 30, 2012, 3:34 pm, 947273
The Financial Times reports
Brussels hit by strike as EU leaders meet.
A general strike brought widespread disruption to Belgium on Monday, as European Union leaders arrived for a summit in Brussels with a focus on boosting employment across the region. Trains, shipping, air travel and public transport were ...
January 30, 2012, 1:34 pm, 947245
Rumors that a deal will be reached "soon" have gone on for weeks. Indeed announcements of an expected agreement today have already hit new snags.
For the sake of argument, let's assume a deal does go through, then crunch the latest numbers to see what the situation looks ...
January 30, 2012, 5:34 am, 947136
There is massive theoretical as well as actual real life evidence that financial transaction taxes will backfire, but that never stops politicians hell-bent on plowing ahead with "it's different this time" horrendous ideas.
Via Google Translate from Les Echos, please consider
Sarkozy's stock exchange tax as of ...
January 29, 2012, 9:34 pm, 947113
Politics are heating up in France and Germany as French president Nicolas Sarkozy clings to his political life and German chancellor Angela Merkel is under increasing pressure over more bailouts.
The Financial Times reports
Merkel to join Sarkozy on campaign trail
German chancellor Angela Merkel promised to join ...
January 29, 2012, 1:34 pm, 947072
This Sunday Funnies cartoon is courtesy of
Merle Hazard who says "We Can't Go On Together with Suspicious Minds, Because Were Leveraged too Much Baby"
Concept by Merle Hazard, Art by
Grey Blackwell. The ...
January 29, 2012, 1:34 pm, 947071
Unless it's a "sure thing" the last thing politicians want is a voter referendum. Simply put, politicians never stand for democracy.
What voters want is a different thing:
72% of Irish Want Referendum on Fiscal Treaty
The Irish government faces intense pressure to hold a ...
January 29, 2012, 3:34 am, 947037
It is quite amusing to watch the self-destruction of Nicolas Sarkozy, president of France. Sarkozy got into a feud with UK prime minister David Cameron over a tax on financial transactions. Then under pressure from French banks withdrew support of the tax.
For a wrap-up, please see
January 28, 2012, 9:34 pm, 947027
Europe has been on the "verge" of a deal for two weeks. However, a deal is meaningless if Germany insists on budget controls. Actually a deal now is meaningless even if Germany does back down because at some point Greek politicians will have had enough. Here are the latest stories.
January 28, 2012, 3:34 pm, 946981
The arrogance of French president (soon to be ex-president) Nicolas Sarkozy is about to bite the Eurocrat nanny-zone officials big time.
In December, Sarkozy insisted on a financial transaction tax and other concessions that the UK alone would not sign. In what was billed as a triumph of 26 ...
January 28, 2012, 1:34 pm, 946971
Last month, in an effort to snub the British and prime minister Cameron who would not go along with the Tobin Tax concept, French president Nicolas Sarkozy forced through a rule change that excluded non-euro member nations from sitting at the table.
This move has ruffled the feathers ...
January 28, 2012, 5:34 am, 946931
I was on Capital Account with Lauren Lyster once again on Friday. She was covering the economic forum in Davos so the interview was with Demetri Kofinas. I come in about the 17 minute mark.
January 27, 2012, 7:34 pm, 946892
Prepare for Greece to exit the Eurozone. Germany has made a request that in my opinion practically guarantees that outcome. The Financial Times has a pair of articles on the matter but the conclusion above is mine.
German Government Calls for Greece to Cede Sovereignty to Eurozone "Budget Commissioner"
January 27, 2012, 5:34 pm, 946854
Here are a couple of interesting charts from the
LPS Mortgage Monitor, January 2012 Mortgage Performance Observations report. Data as of December, 2011 Month-end.
click on any chart for sharper image
Originations Decline
...
January 27, 2012, 1:34 pm, 946726
With an involuntary Greek debt restructuring in the works (see
Greek Debt Solution Likely to Trigger Credit Default Swaps) it's time to focus on the next involuntary debt restructuring.
Portugal 10-Year Government Bond Yield
Expect ...
January 27, 2012, 1:34 pm, 946725
The headline real GDP number of 2.8% does not sound too bad until you dig beneath the surface. A full 1.9 percentages points of that 2.8% was inventory replenishment. Real GDP vs. a year ago is +1.6% and that is on a recession track as well.
Five-Year Treasury Yield ...
January 27, 2012, 11:34 am, 946661
European finance ministers and politicians have come to the conclusion that a deal, even one involving a credit event, is better than no deal at all. Thus it is increasingly likely the
Greek Debt Wrangle will trigger credit default swaps.
Opposition to payouts on Greek credit-default swaps from ...
January 26, 2012, 5:34 pm, 946355
Bickering in Davos at the World Economic Forum has taken center stage as
U.K. Prime Minister Cameron rebukes euro leaders over crisis
David Cameron has delivered a firm rebuke to Germany at the World Economic Forum, calling on Berlin to contribute significantly more resources and guarantees to help ...
January 26, 2012, 1:34 pm, 946233
Steen Jakobsen, chief economist for Saxo Bank in Denmark has some interesting thoughts to share on gold an metals in an email update that just came in.
Steen writes ...
Interesting session with Fed yesterday! Both the ECB and the FED have now clearly showed that the changed board ...
January 26, 2012, 11:34 am, 946167
Here is an interesting chart by Peter Garnry, an Equity Strategist at Saxo Bank in Denmark.
The race is on to see which central bank can load up its balance sheet with the most garbage the fastest.
Reader ...
January 26, 2012, 3:34 am, 945985
Amazingly, smack in the midst of deal to save Greece from bankruptcy, the ECB not only insists on taking no losses on Greek bonds its holds, it wants a profit on them because it bought them at what seemed at the time to be a substantial discount. The discount was ...
January 25, 2012, 5:34 pm, 945873
In a press statement regarding today's
FOMC meeting, the Fed announced that economic conditions would "likely warrant exceptionally low levels for the federal funds rate at least through late 2014".
If It Doesn't Work, Keep Doing It
As noted in
Premature Dollar Obituaries and Mainstream Economists' ...
January 25, 2012, 5:34 pm, 945872
Here is a chart of apparel trends sent to me last week by reader Tim Wallace.
click on chart for sharper image
Wallace Writes ....
Dear Mish
As I have been saying over ...
January 25, 2012, 1:35 pm, 945736
I have a Sony laptop computer. It is less than a year old. It was not cheap. I bought the best components, memory and hardware components options available including 3-year in home support.
A couple of months ago the monitor developed a problem (a line of dead pixels down ...
January 25, 2012, 5:34 am, 945536
Inquiring minds are reading the complete text of
President Obama's State of the Union Address to see what distortions, lies, and hypocrisy it contains.
I found a nice Orwellian set of paragraphs smack in the middle of his speech.
And while Government can’t fix the ...
January 25, 2012, 1:34 am, 945492
Pension plans rebounded sharply in 2009 and 2010 from the devastating losses in 2008. However they never got back to even. 2011 was another poor year, and in spite of the start to 2012 I expect this year and/or next year to suffer more losses, or alternatively the market to ...
January 24, 2012, 9:34 pm, 945453
Japan is in deep serious trouble the moment it enters a sustainable period of negative or neutral current account balances. If Japan becomes dependent foreigners to finance rollovers on its debt either the Yen sinks or interest rates rise. Interest rates at a mere 3% would currently consumer all of ...
January 24, 2012, 1:34 pm, 945228
Anyone wondering what kind of economically-illiterate, big-brother expansionist ideas Newt Gingrich might embrace as president can find the answer in several recent articles regarding his positions on marijuana usage, food stamps, drug testing, and surprisingly even "free radios".
Please consider
Gary Johnson hammers Newt for ‘hypocrisy’ on executing ...
January 24, 2012, 9:34 am, 945093
A pair of articles by Austrian economist professor Antal E. Fekete just might have one wondering who is more in the loony bin, mainstream economists like Krugman or those consistently chanting about the death of the dollar coupled with hyperinflation.
Premature Obituaries
Please consider
Premature ...
January 24, 2012, 5:34 am, 945000
Reuters reports
Euro zone ministers reject private bondholders' Greece offer
Euro zone finance ministers Monday rejected as insufficient an offer made by private bondholders to help restructure Greece's debts, sending negotiators back to the drawing board and raising the threat of Greek default.
At a meeting in ...
January 24, 2012, 1:34 am, 944959
Paul Munsch is the owner of St. Louis Paving in St. Louis, Missouri. He and his employees have faced years of bullying by the union bosses with whom President Obama continues to side.
Please listen to this video message.
Note, the video starts out grainy, I believe on ...
January 23, 2012, 7:34 pm, 944909
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have already cost US taxpayers over $200 billion. If Obama gets his way on mortgage writedowns, the GSEs estimate it would take another $100 billion.
Since such estimates are always overly-optimistic by a factor of 3 to 10, I estimate the cost to taxpayers ...
January 23, 2012, 5:34 pm, 944861
Steen Jakobsen, chief economist for Saxo bank in Denmark, pinged me with an interesting set of comments this morning. Please consider the tale of the frog and the indebted princess.
This morning I had the pleasure of being on CNBC together with a pundit from a major investment bank. He ...
January 23, 2012, 1:34 pm, 944732
David Stockman former budget director for President Reagan, appeared on Bill Moyers and presented his message about money, Wall Street financiers, and crony capitalism.
Link if Video does not play:
David Stockman on Crony Capitalism
Money dominates politics, ...
January 23, 2012, 7:35 am, 944546
Citing the latest report on
"Debt and Deleveraging" by the McKinsey Global Institute, Ambrose Evans-Pritchard proclaims
America overcomes the debt crisis as Britain sinks deeper into the swamp.
Britain has sunk deeper into debt. Three years after bubble burst, the UK has barely begun to tackle ...
January 23, 2012, 3:34 am, 944489
The bickering over a half percentage point reduction on the discount rate continued over the weekend as
Greek Bondholders Draw Line in the Sand
Private owners of Greek debt have made their “maximum” offer for the losses they are willing to accept, the bondholders’ lead negotiator has said, implying ...
January 22, 2012, 3:34 pm, 944429
Reader "Brisbane Bear" from down under sent potpourri of links on the dwindling prospects for the Australian economy.
Oceanfront Homes for 65% Off
In apples, rot starts at the periphery and spreads to the core. In real estate, rot starts in condos and vacation homes, then slowly ...
January 22, 2012, 1:34 pm, 944410
The video below is from a European Central Bank press-conference in Ireland. Journalist Vincent Browne demands that the ECB representative explain why the ECB required the Irish people to bail out a bank's uninsured creditors. The bureaucrat mouths bland reassurances, then asserts (despite all appearances to the contrary) that the ...
January 22, 2012, 7:34 am, 944351
In spite of a carefully timed announcement by Newt Gingrich's ex-wife Marianne on an "
Open Marriage, Mistress Proposal", Gingrich rallied from a 16 point deficit on January 3 to a stunning 12 percentage point slaughter of Mitt Romney less than three weeks later.
South Carolina Primary Results
January 21, 2012, 7:34 pm, 944279
French President Nicolas Sarkozy is once again setting himself up to look like a fool, this time over his pledge to implement a tax on all financial transactions, popularly referred to as the "Tobin Tax".
Just days after pledging to proceed with a tax on all financial transaction tax ...
January 21, 2012, 1:34 pm, 944230
For weeks we have been hearing "agreement soon" on Greek bond haircuts. The theme for the day today as it was yesterday and as it was a week ago is "tomorrow".
One problem with all of these "deal is close" announcements is none of the have included agreement from ...
January 21, 2012, 5:34 am, 944190
Both Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum have accused Ron Paul of being an isolationist. Is that really the case? Ironically, I propose that Newt Gingrich, Mitt Romney, and Rick Santorum are the isolationists.
However, before one can make a case for or debate anything, there must be an agreement ...
January 20, 2012, 5:34 pm, 944105
Slowly but surely global growth estimates have been ratcheted down. Courtesy of Google Translate from an Italian news site, please consider
IMF estimates two years of recession for Italy
Deep red for the Italian economy in the next two years. Against the background of a global recovery ...
January 20, 2012, 1:34 pm, 943981
On Thursday I had the pleasure of doing another segment on Capital Account with Lauren Lyster. I come in at about the 3:45 minute mark for much of the rest of the 30 minute session.
January 20, 2012, 5:35 am, 943786
Every week someone sends me an idea on how to fix various housing problems.
Many want home prices to stop falling and many others want to bail out homeowners because banks were bailed out (as if two wrongs make a right). Others want to stop foreclosures even though ...
January 20, 2012, 3:34 am, 943770
The manufacturing slowdown in China continues for the third consecutive month prompting a Bloomberg headline
China Manufacturing Boosts Case for Easing
A Chinese purchasing managers’ index signaled manufacturing may contract for a third month as a slowing economy boosts the case for the government to further loosen credit ...
January 19, 2012, 7:34 pm, 943705
Latest polls show French President Sarkozy is losing ground to right-wing anti-euro candidate Marine Le Pen in the first round of the France presidential election. Via Google translate, please consider
Le Pen and Bayrou Back
François Hollande is still leading the voting intentions of a presidential first round ...
January 19, 2012, 1:34 pm, 943543
Thanks to massive propaganda, Croatia is foolishly about to join the EU. Chicken farmers (Croatians in general) are about to pay a steep price.
The New York Times reports
As European Union Beckons, Allure Fades for Wary Croatia
Zoran ...
January 19, 2012, 1:34 pm, 943542
The treaty hammered out by French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela has been watered down to complete meaningless with new provisions that would allow countries to "temporarily deviate from the rules in case of an usual event" or in "periods of severe economic downturn."
Bear ...
January 19, 2012, 3:34 am, 943269
Ambrose Evans-Pritchard says
The euro is pushing Italy into depression
Here is the latest money supply chart from the Banca d'Italia. Just look at M3. Horrendous.
Italy M1, M2, M3
click on chart ...
January 18, 2012, 11:34 pm, 943232
Yahoo! News reports
Ron Paul only GOP Candidate to Publicly Denounce SOPA
GOP presidential candidate and Texas Rep. Ron Paul came out Wednesday in support of the “blackout” efforts taking place across the Web protesting pending anti-piracy legislation many have decried as an Internet censorship effort.
Paul ...
January 18, 2012, 3:34 pm, 943103
Former ECB president Jean Claude Trichet said there would be no haircuts. There were. The first Greek haircut was 21% and it was insufficient. The second Greek haircut deal was 50% and that too was insufficient. On each failed attempt, the ECB and EMU poured more money into Greece.
January 18, 2012, 1:34 pm, 943029
Inquiring minds are reading several recent articles on the EU Observer.
ECB Considers Alternatives to Bond-Buy Program
Please consider
ECB mulling alternatives to bond-buy plan
The European Central Bank is exploring alternatives to its controversial bond-purchase programme but has yet to decide on any ...
January 18, 2012, 7:35 am, 942833
Here's a dead on arrival proposal:
IMF Proposes Trillion Dollar Lending Expansion
Most European stocks rose, erasing earlier losses, as the International Monetary Fund was said to propose a $1 trillion expansion of its lending resources. Asian shares and U.S. index futures advanced.
The IMF is ...
January 18, 2012, 3:34 am, 942785
Hedge funds holding credit default swaps on Greek bonds are probably laughing out loud over statements made today by Greek Prime Minister Lucas Papademos.
The New York Times reports
Greek Premier Says Creditors May Be Forced to Take Losses
Taking direct aim at hedge funds and other ...
January 17, 2012, 5:34 pm, 942678
Bob Bronson makes the claim on the Big Picture Blog that
Initial Unemployment Claims Confirm Unfinished Market Rally
Stock Market vs. Weekly Claims
In addition to other bullish coincident economic data reported yesterday, initial unemployment claims, which ...
January 17, 2012, 3:34 pm, 942615
Steen Jakobsen, chief economist for Saxo Bank in Denmark, has some very interesting thoughts to share on the sovereign debt crisis in Europe. His six major points are:
More austerity cannot possibly work.
Voters have lost the faith and willingness needed to repair the current EU and Eurozone construct
Credit and ...
January 17, 2012, 3:34 am, 942317
Bernanke is trying every way he can to get banks to lend (printing coupled with a multitude of lending facilities and Fed programs).
It's easy enough to prove the printing: Base money supply is up about $1.8 trillion since the start of the recession.
Base Money Supply
January 16, 2012, 9:34 pm, 942293
CNBC has some interesting figures on a recent poll in Italy:
Majority of Italians No Longer Trust the Euro
65% of those polled thought the introduction of the euro has been more damaging than beneficial for the Italian economy
55% percent of Italians have lost confidence in the ...
January 16, 2012, 5:34 pm, 942271
Portugal is poised to quickly follow Greece into the default abyss following a debt downgrade to junk status by the S&P on Friday.
The Wall Street Journal reports
Portugal's Bond Yields Rise Sharply After Rating Cut To Junk
Portuguese borrowing costs rose sharply Monday as some ...
January 16, 2012, 1:34 pm, 942204
A Greek default appears likely soon as
Greece Dispatches Officials to US Over Default Fears.
Greece sent senior officials to Washington on Monday for meetings with the International Monetary Fund as it raced against the clock to break a deadlock in debt swap talks that has raised fears ...
January 16, 2012, 5:34 am, 942080
Neither German Chancellor Angela Merkel nor French President Nicolas Sarkozy is likely to survive the European sovereign debt crisis.
The timing of the demise of Sarkozy is easy to predict. Polls suggest he will be not win the May 6 election and he might not even survive the first ...
January 15, 2012, 7:34 pm, 942012
With every passing day, there is increased chipping away of support for the Euro. Please consider
Linde CEO says Germany should mull euro exit
Germany should consider leaving the euro if efforts to impose fiscal discipline upon indebted euro zone countries fail, the head of industrial gases firm ...
January 15, 2012, 1:34 pm, 941970
In an effort to halt expansion of Japan's massive public debt,
Japan's Prime Minister Seeks Doubling National Sales Tax.
Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda said containing Japan’s public debt load, the world’s largest, is critical after Standard & Poor’s downgraded credit ratings on France, Austria and seven other European ...
January 15, 2012, 3:34 am, 941865
As a refresher course in French politics, presidential elections are a two-stage process. In the first round, voters select from candidates of all the political parties. The second round pits the top two vote getters against each other.
Never before in history has a sitting French president polled so ...
January 14, 2012, 9:34 pm, 941844
Check out the trends in the latest
South Carolina Republican Primary Polls as noted on Real Clear Politics.
click on chart for sharper image
Gingrich has collapsed, and although Mitt Romney and Santorum were the initial beneficiaries, ...
January 14, 2012, 7:34 pm, 941837
Hoping to seize the deficit reduction initiative from Republicans (it does not take much because Republicans have no proposals on the plate) President Obama is out to prove he is a genuine deficit fighter. With much fanfare Obama launched his idea to streamline government. The proposal requires Congressional approval.
January 14, 2012, 3:34 pm, 941815
In the wake of S&P debt downgrades,
Merkel vows faster eurozone reforms.
European leaders promised on Saturday to speed up plans to strengthen spending rules and get a permanent bailout fund up and running as soon as possible, a day after U.S. agency S&P cut the ratings ...
January 13, 2012, 9:34 pm, 941733
Madeline Schnapp at TrimTabs writes via email ...
TrimTabs flow research shows that retail investors are stuffing money into the mattress. So tell me again how all this money printing by the Fed has helped retail investors?
Best,
Madeline
Via Press TrimTabs says "Retail Investors Shun Speculation and Stuff Money ...
January 13, 2012, 3:34 pm, 941614
Inquiring minds are digging into the
Ceridian-UCLA Pulse of Commerce Fuel Index for December 2011 report released today.
The Ceridian-UCLA Pulse of Commerce Index® (PCI®), issued today by the UCLA Anderson School of Management and Ceridian Corporation, rose 0.2 percent in December following the 0.1 percent increase in ...
January 13, 2012, 1:34 pm, 941541
In conjunction with a "
Pause for Reflection" and stalled talks by Greece Bank Creditor Group over the benefits of further "voluntary" cuts on Greek debt, yield on 1-year Greek bonds soared over 400%.
A hard default appears ...
January 13, 2012, 1:34 pm, 941540
Under pretense of looking for other sources of oil,
EU Iran Oil Embargo Over Nuclear Work Said Likely to Be Delayed Six Months
A European Union embargo on imports of Iranian (OPCRIRAN) oil will probably be delayed for six months to let countries such as Greece, Italy and ...
January 13, 2012, 11:34 am, 941470
Less than a day ago ECB president Mario Draghi was bragging "
Credit Crunch Averted" noting the Euro's first weekly gain in five-weeks. Unfortunately for Draghi, there was still one day left in the week.
Greece Bank Creditor Group Says Talks ‘Paused for Reflection’
Bloomberg reports
January 13, 2012, 5:34 am, 941309
Following a relatively tiny two-day rally in the Euro the ECB blows its horn with a statement
Credit Crunch AvertedThe euro rose, extending its first weekly gain versus the dollar in six weeks, as Italian bonds advanced and after European Central Bank President Mario Draghi said policy makers ...
January 13, 2012, 1:34 am, 941281
Slovenia, like Hungary is on the brink of fiscal disaster. Unlike Hungary, Slovenia is in the Eurozone.
The Guardian reports
Slovenia scrambles to avoid economic crash as Zoran Jankovic, leader of largest party, fails to form a government to deal with debt issues.
Slovenia was on Thursday ...
January 12, 2012, 1:34 pm, 941068
Following all the glowing retail sales reports for Christmas, the actual numbers reported today show a mere .1% rise. Excluding autos which rose 1.5%, retail sales actually declined.
MarketWatch reports
U.S. retail sales rise scant 0.1% in December
Sales at U.S. retailers increased 0.1% in ...
January 12, 2012, 11:34 am, 940995
Here is the latest chart from Tim Wallace on gasoline and petroleum usage.
click on chart for sharper image
Wallace writes...
Hello Mish
Chevron is reporting weaker than expected results.
As we discussed ...
