Links: 2009-05-16
- Taipei Times – CLSA strategist warns of long-term asset bubble
“A two-month global equity rally that has added US$8.8 trillion to stocks may continue in the short term as risk aversion declines and investors overreact to improving economic data, CLSA Ltd’s Christopher Wood said. In the longer term, buyers of US shares are likely to suffer as the prospects of a swift recovery dim, Institutional Investor’s No. 1-ranked strategist wrote in a report. Asian and emerging market stocks, especially Taiwan, have the potential to become the next asset bubble, he said.”
- Quarantined students, teacher target of ill will | The Japan Times Online
“Three high school students and a teacher from Osaka who were the first people in Japan confirmed to have the new flu have become the target of malicious phone calls and e-mails, local board of education and municipal officials said Friday.”
- Buffett’s Berkshire Boosted Wells Fargo Stake as Shares Fell – Bloomberg
Billionaire investor Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. added to holdings of lenders Wells Fargo & Co and U.S. Bancorp in the first quarter as the shares traded at their lowest prices in more than a decade.
- FT.com – US prices fall most since 1955
Consumer prices fell by 0.7 per cent over the year to April and were flat from March due to sagging prices of petrol, electricity and food. Slumping prices have lessened pressure on consumers who have seen their wealth and employment savaged by the recession.
- Health Care 101 – Marshall Auerback
“A few thoughts on the health care debate: Currently, private health insurance companies can cherry pick the healthiest members of our population – effectively disenfranchising the balance. “
- Twitter Sign In Comes to Disqus – Mashable
Disqus are continuing to innovate in this space, and today they’re rolling out a new feature on all Disqus blogs, including Mashable: the ability to Sign In with Twitter and cross-post your comment to your Twitter stream.
- John Crudele on Greenspan’s NAR speech – Tim Iacono
“The National Association of Realtors, which is probably suffering from combat fatigue, asked the former Federal Reserve chairman and the chief suspect in the destruction of the US economy, to address its Washington conference Tuesday and tell real estate people what they want to hear — that things are getting better. So Greenspan did just that.”
- Is 2nd Quarter Stabilization Story Fading? – Real Time Economics
“According to Macroeconomic Advisers‘ GDP tracking estimate, second quarter GDP was on pace to decline just 0.5%, at an annual rate, as recently as Tuesday. Then came a series of slight downward revisions based on things like lower defense and defense-related outlays included in the monthly Treasury statement, Boeing deliveries and orders, retail sales and business inventories. On Friday, following release of April industrial production figures showing lower-than expected vehicle assemblies, second quarter GDP is tracking a 1.3% decline, according to Macroeconomic Advisers.”
- Vodafone abolishes roaming charges ahead of mobile phone price war – Times Online
“Vodafone made the first move in an expected price war between mobile phone companies by abolishing roaming charges for British customers travelling in Europe.”
- BofA Merrill Exodus Continues – Deal Journal
Obviously, BofA overpaid and now that these two are together, they are getting even less for their money.
- U.S. Industrial Production Falls Less Than Forecast – Bloomberg.com
Output at factories, mines and utilities decreased 0.5 percent last month, less than forecast, after falling a revised 1.7 percent in March, according to a report from the Federal Reserve today in Washington. The amount of industrial capacity in use dropped to a record-low 69.1 percent.
- GM Dealer Closing List: SEE FULL LIST – Huffington Post
“On Thursday, nearly 800 Chrysler dealerships learned they would be shuttered as part of the company’s restructuring plan. Today it’s GM’s turn to notify 1,100 dealers that the company will not be renewing contracts with them.”
- Speaker’s Comments Raise Detainee Debate to New Level – Washington Post
“Pelosi’s performance in the Capitol was either a calculated escalation of a long-running feud with the Bush administration or a reckless act by a politician whose word had been called into question. Perhaps it was both.”
- Nike slashes 5 percent of global jobs in largest cut – Reuters
Nike Inc, the world’s largest maker of athletic shoes and apparel, will slash 5 percent of its 35,000-strong global workforce, or 1,750 jobs, in the largest headcount reduction in the company’s…
- Does the ECB/Eurosystem have enough capital? – Willem Buiter
The answer is complex, but the general take here is that the ECB and the Eurozone are in a better state than the BoE or the Fed
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