Markets

By Marc Chandler The European Financial Stability Fund (EFSF) is planning its first issue this week. Talk was of a 3-5 bln euros of a 5-year issue priced 8-10 bp on top of swap rates. This would imply a yield of about 2.85% compared to…

Nomura's Bob Janjuah was on Bloomberg Television's "Inside Track" with Erik Schatzker this morning, discussing his outlook as well as the crises in the U.S. and Europe. He opened the session by saying he is tactically bearish over…

By Jeff Clark, BIG GOLD There have been numerous reports of bullion shortages in many parts around the world, along with rising premiums. And the two explanations – we’re running out of gold! and, it’s just a manufacturing bottleneck – are…

By David Galland One of the memes among the sound-money community is that one day things will get so bad that the public will come to its senses and throw the bums out, and then things will get better. Recently I came across an article by…

by Annaly Capital Management This was a relatively data-filled week for the housing market. We’ll start with the good news. The National Association of Realtors (NAR) reported that existing home sales rose more than expected in December…

By Win Thin Brazil central bank hiked rates 50 bp late yesterday to 11.25%, as expected, though some chatter was heard about a possible 75 bp move. It said the move was the beginning of an adjustment process that along with “macro…

by Marc Chandler Through the Middle East, Tunisia's recent experience is prompting policy responses. Officials seem concerned that the ease at which the Tunisia's government was toppled could embolden the disenchanted elsewhere. High…

By Jeff Clark, BIG GOLD One of the cheapest ways to buy and store physical gold and silver is with unallocated (or pool) storage. With unallocated storage, a dealer holds metal that is owned by its customers, but without identifying any…

By Win Thin It’s all about monetary tightening in EM today. PBOC hiked reserve requirements another 50 bp today, effective January 20, and has hiked a total here of 350 bp since starting in January 2010. This comes after the Christmas…

By Win Thin In its Fiscal Monitor published in November, the IMF makes a crucial point about growth rates and debt dynamics. It points out that the larger the differential for any country between real interest rates (borrowing costs) and…