News: 2013-11-15

By Edward Harrison On Nov 15, 2013

Markets

Wall Street feeds the ravenous debt beast again – FT.com

Monetary Policy

ECB ready to print, Germany ready to scream – Telegraph Blogs

“”That is a radical change of position for the ECB and a very welcome one in our view,” said Ken Wattret from BNP Paribas.

“This is the most explicit signal yet from an ECB official that balance sheet expansion via asset purchases is on the radar.””

Unconventional monetary policy: Monetary policy has not been ultra-loose | The Economist

“If one uses nominal GDP growth as the criterion, then since 2008 monetary policy has been tighter than any period since the early 1930s. Indeed this is even true if you average NGDP growth and inflation. Unfortunately, Dobbs and Lund are expressing the majority view; indeed, even Ben Bernanke now considers monetary policy to be highly accommodative, despite his 2003 statement.”

Unconventional monetary policy: An ongoing experiment | The Economist

“I was unconvinced about McKinsey’s views on equity markets. Between 2009 and 2012, emerging markets saw particularly strong gains, fuelled by a combination of strong long term growth expectations and a global “hunt for yield”. In the US, equity gains were unexceptional judged by performance during equivalent periods in earlier economic cycles. They were, however, exceptional relative to US post-crisis economic performance. In effect, a gap has opened up between financial hope and economic reality. How that gap eventually closes will provide a key test of the longer-term success of QE. The fact that companies have chosen not to invest on the back of substantial equity gains is, in my view, a worrying sign.”

Is the Fed really driving up stock prices?

The Grumpy Economist: A limited central bank

Speech: A Limited Central Bank (November 14, 2013) – Philadelphia Fed

Fed’s Plosser: Mild Deflation Not Necessarily a Bad Thing – Real Time Economics – WSJ

Fed’s Plosser: Wrong to Use Monetary Policy to Target Job Market – Real Time Economics – WSJ

US Fed could use monetary policy to prevent asset bubbles – Telegraph

New Fed Chair Could Mean Interest Rates Near Zero Until 2017 | Daily Ticker – Yahoo Finance

The Fed’s Low-Rate Message Is Sinking In – Real Time Economics – WSJ

Senate drops the ball on Fed’s Janet Yellen – Telegraph Blogs

“From Nouriel Roubini: ten quick tweets on all those questions that ill-briefed senators were “too naive” to ask Janet Yellen, at her Fed hearings.”