2014

News links for 25 Mar 2014

Market based information is telling us that spreads and leverage are now disconnected, fundamentals remain in-line with theory. Companies with higher net debt also have poorer liquidity positions.

I ran a bit late this morning. SO there will be no daily commentary until tomorrow. It is a slow news day, in any event. I think the links here capture the essence of what's happening. Europe BBC News - French business output grew in…

By Frances Coppola Scott Sumner argues that when the monetary base is fixed, low interest rates are deflationary. I've emphasised the fixed monetary base because it is an important condition. If the monetary base is NOT fixed then the…

By Marc Chandler There have been three flash PMI reports today, and each was surprising. China and Germany surprised on the downside while the French surprise was on the upside. HSBC's flash read on China's manufacturing sector weakened…

Many continue to argue that the rate normalization taking place now will slow business activity in the US. Good luck betting on that however. There is no question that corporate America had benefited tremendously from extraordinarily low…

This is a loaded topic. This entry, however, is not intended to be political. Very few things in economics are good or bad in themselves, but rather can be good under certain conditions or bad under others. I want to try to tease out as…

Treasuries once again experienced what amounts to a sharp curve flattening in recent days. The market action resembled what took place after the initial announcement of taper back in December. The yields in the "belly" of the curve have…

News links for 23 Mar 2014

Andrea Terzi Dr. Terzi is a Professor of Economics at Franklin University Switzerland and a Research Associate with the Levy Economics Institute of Bard College. One thing’s for sure: The financial crisis has dealt a deadly blow to what…