US pent-up demand, charted
The second half of last year was puzzling to anyone trying to understand future trends in US consumption. Or at least it was to us.Spending climbed more quickly than incomes,...
Rally Monkey gets sucked into the self-referential vortex of psychologically important thresholds
Cue the already-deflating* bubble in a) people pointing out that the Dow hit 13,000, then b) people who point out the irrelevance of the Dow’s crossing 13,000, followed by...
Further further reading
For the commute home, - The rise of beeronomics.- Why demand for cars will stay elevated.- Lucas Van Praag’s accidental exit interview.- Whitney Houston’s songs...
The decline of US housing inventory
Depending on how you look at it, you would probably be justified in reacting to this chart from SocGen with either optimism or pessimism:Optimism because the decline in overall...
Geithner: Nice committee, you guys are hilarious
Just a bit of Friday afternoon tomfoolery before we get back to our day job.This has made the rounds already (HT Joe at Clusterstock and see also the WSJ’s Washington Wire,...
US Markets Live transcript 17 Feb 2012
Markets Live chat transcript for the chat ending at 16:07 on 17 Feb 2012. Participants in this chat were: Cardiff Garcia Joseph Cotterill, FT CG Hello!JC HolaCG Listen,...
Further further reading
For the commute home, - Measuring the consequences of the zero bound constraint.- What Europe loses if Greece is forced out.- The power of the personal: individual stories...
Something interesting and ignored in yesterday’s FOMC minutes
The media never pays much attention to the discussion in the FOMC minutes that presents the views of Fed staff economists; we all flock to the parts that describe the thinking...
Further further reading
For the commute home, - The Volcker Rule’s unusual critics.- Economic data warms hearts, but doesn’t change minds.- Greece is on pace for the worst recession in modern history....
FOMC minutes for the Jan 24-25, 2012 meeting
A few items to note as we come across them:1) Recall that at the end of the meeting, the Fed released a new “Statement of Longer-Run Goals and Monetary Policy Strategy”,...
What to look for in the FOMC minutes
The FOMC minutes will be released in just a few minutes (2pm EST).There will be a lot of parsing given the importance of the last meeting (first time publishing projections for the fed funds rates,...
Raisin’ Repo
(Chart via RBC.)There’s a normal seasonal rise in Treasury bill supply at this time of year, usually lasting through to about April, but it typically doesn’t produce...
