2010

by Comstock Partners In our view the market, at current levels, is highly vulnerable to a major downturn as a result of negative fundamentals and high valuations. Following is a summary of important factors likely to impact stocks in the…

Highlights The US dollar is broadly lower in anticipation of a joint aid package for Ireland but experienced a quick jolt on the back of the China reserve hike news.  But as the markets digested the news, the hike in reserves is…

by John Lounsbury Buried 72 pages deep in the latest COP (Congressional Oversight Panel) Report is the following table: (Click on table for larger image.) The significance of this table is explained in the report: The…

by Claus Vistesen I don't suspect anyone remember part 1 of this series. So if you want to refresh your memory, you can have a look here. In that note, I covered some of the more theoretical issues in the form of how demographics might…

Sorry, the post title is over the top. Actually, let's hope there are no riots. There is certainly anger on display in the Guardian video clip below.  So far these are pretty tame protests.     Here are the things I…

US Economic data continues to be mixed, with positive ticks in the jobless claims but weak-than-expected inflation and a surge in November’s Philly Fed.  In fact, Wednesday’s core inflation measures were the weakest print since 1958,…

by Michael Pettis Last week I suggested that slowly the consensus is shifting towards a recognition that Chinese growth may slow sharply in the next few years.  When I discuss this prospect with analysts and investors, however, they…

Randall Wray shows that quantitative easing will be ineffective except to the degree it can induce a shift in private portfolio preferences. He uses a recent post by hedge fund manager Warren Mosler to demonstrate that QE is the equivalent…

The same guy who gave us the Quantitative Easing Explained video, produced this hilarious take on high frequency trading last year. The Terminator is out to stop it! Enjoy.     Source: malekanoms

One might be forgiven for thinking that a 110 bln euro EU/IMF package would suffice for Greece and stabilize the situation as IMF packages typically do over time.   However, over the past month 10-year Greek yields have 260 bp and…