2011

Bonds in Italy are marching higher amid rumours of ECB intervention. Yesterday they breached 6.15%. Now they are above 6.30% and going higher still. Belgium and Spain have also been infected with Greek referendum contagion.

The last two days have seen the latest monthly data on credit growth in Australia from the RBA, and the latest quarterly data on house prices from the ABS. Together they confirm trends that I’ve identified on numerous occasions between the…

Greece’s decision to hold a referendum weighing on sentiment; global PMIs most softer thus far. EUR/USD has retracted half of its Oct. move in two days; Greek referendum increases disorderly default risk. US ISM manufacturing key report of…

50.4 is the lowest number since early 2009, during the depths of the recession. So this number, shades above contraction, is a big deal. In fact, the sub-index for new (export) orders index is contracting, meaning slowing economic growth in…

Given Greek sentiment, in all likelihood, a referendum vote for the bailout agreement will fail. The question is “what then?” I would anticipate that, at a minimum, an an actual default which triggers credit default swaps with higher…

Lots of debate out there what took the market down today. We’re not certain you can tag the first 15 S&P points on a single factor — MF Global, euro, Italy, yen intervention and strong dollar, or simple profit taking — but willing to up…

In the video below, Bill Black discusses the issues he raised in a recent post about Bank of America’s accounting activities. At issue is the effect of its shift of assets from the holding company to its FDIC-insured subsidiary. In total,…

Operation Twist didn't work in Russia, India or Brazil and it's not working in the US.

I have Daniel Kahnemann’s book Thinking Fast and Slow, but have yet to read it. Judging from the positive reviews and his past work, it sounds like it should be pretty good. Kahnemann was on CNBC last week discussing some themes from his…

In terms of business activity, the Chicago ISM highlighted the fact that order backlogs recovered from two months of contraction and that employment was the highest in six months, even while new orders erased half of September’s gain. As…