Geniuses in Charge BALTIMORE, Maryland – Is there any smarter group of homo sapiens on the planet? Or in all of history? We’re talking about Fed economists, of course. Not only did they avoid another Great Depression by bold absurdity…giving the economy more of the one thing of which it clearly had too much – debt. They also carefully monitored the economy’s progress so as to avoid any backsliding into normalcy. And where do we get this penetrating appraisal? From the Fed economists...
Read More »Time to Raise the White Flag at Gualfin?
It’s all in your head…and that’s where it shall remain! Illustration via thesurvivalchannel.com Who Cares What Voters Want? BALTIMORE, Maryland – There were two newsworthy developments last week, neither of them really important – the first because it won’t happen, the second because it won’t matter. First, the Fed let it be known that it has “normalcy” once again in its sights. “Prospect of rate rise grows as U.S. moves closer to passing Fed tests,” reported the Financial Times on...
Read More »Trump’s Biggest Deal
The Importance of Cabbages LONDON – A dear reader challenged us: “To create a perfect world what type of government would you propose?” Another put it a different way: “Again, I’m convinced more than ever, Trump is the only candidate that might have a chance to get us out of the financial and economic mess the United States is in. If Bonner & Partners is unable to recognize this, it tells me their agenda is not to fix America’s problems… but continue the agony…” Engraving by...
Read More »Retirement Torpedoes and Democracy
Trump Is Right PARIS – On Wednesday, brick-and-mortar retailers – such as Macy’s – led U.S. stocks lower. The Dow lost about as much as it had gained the day before. Nothing much to talk about there… Macy’s Inc. NYSE + BATS Macy’s on the way to Zool. Macy’s Inc. NYSE + BATS – click to enlarge. When we left off yesterday, we posed two questions: Shouldn’t your editor (under torture, of course) confess his sins, renounce his apostasy, and register to vote before it is too late? And…...
Read More »Heretical Thoughts and Doing the Unthinkable
Heresy! Legendary former hedge fund manager Stanley Druckenmiller at the Ira Sohn conference – not an optimist at present, to put it mildly. Photo credit: David A. Grogan / CNBC NORMANDY, France – The Dow rose 222 points on Tuesday – or just over 1%. But we agree with hedge-fund manager Stanley Druckenmiller: This is not a good time to be a U.S. stock market bull. Speaking at an investment conference in New York last week, George Soros’ former partner warned that… “…higher...
Read More »Staying Home on Election Day
Pretenses and Conceits US election circus: Deep State Rep vs. Rage Channeller The markets are eerily quiet… like an angry man with something on his mind and a shotgun in his hand. We will leave them to brood… and return to the spectacle of the U.S. presidential primaries. On display are all the pretenses, conceits, and absurdities of modern government. And now, the race narrows to the two most widely distrusted and loathed candidates. The first, a loose reality-TV star with a hot...
Read More »FX Daily May 11: A Few Thoughts from Asian Business Trip
Sometimes the mountain looks clearer from the plain the summit to paraphrase a American-Lebanese poet. The dollar appears to have entered a new phase on May 3. On that day, it reversed higher against the euro, yen, and sterling for lows not seen in a while. It is tempting to construct a fundamental narrative for the change. However, the usual drivers are noticeable by their absence. The US economic data has been mixed, including the employment report that often sets the tone for...
Read More »Why is Freddie Mac Reporting a Loss?
A Sudden Turn for the Worse Freddie Mac HQ – a strange time for posting losses Photo via nytstyle.com Freddie Mac posted a loss of $354 million this quarter, versus a $2.16 billion gain the previous quarter. Fannie Mae did slightly better with net earnings of $1.1 billion, which were still substantially down from $2.5 billion the previous quarter though. Instead of delving into the entrails of the financial statements, I would like to ask a broader question: Why is Freddie reporting...
Read More »Jonathan Wilmot on China, Oil, and the U.S. Elections
Hear what Jonathan Wilmot, Credit Suisse’s Head of Macro Investments, Asset Management, had to say about Donald Trump, China’s new role in the global economy, and the outlook for oil prices at the Credit Suisse 2016 Asian Investment Conference (AIC). For more stories and videos from the AIC, please visit the conference website. The post Jonathan Wilmot on China, Oil, and the U.S. Elections appeared first on The Financialist.
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