Crude Oil Inventories
Click to enlarge: Bloomberg.com – Unlocking the Crude Oil Bottleneck at Cushing The U.S. oil infrastructure is the product of four decades of rising imports and falling domestic supply. As those trends have reversed over the last few years, America’s network of pipelines has failed to keep pace. Designed in part to ferry oil and...
Will Greece Leave The Euro?
Click to enlarge: The Financial Times – Fear grows of Greece leaving euro Eurozone central bankers have talked publicly for the first time of managing a possible Greek exit from Europe’s monetary union as stalemate in Athens talks on a coalition government raises the prospect that Greece will renege on the terms of its...
A Run On Greek Banks?
Click to enlarge: Comment The chart above shows the monthly level of deposits in Greek banks through the latest release, March 31. The Wall Street Journal – As Bank Withdrawals Surge, Athens Relies More on ECB Greek depositors withdrew €700 million ($898 million) from the country’s banks on Monday, fueling fears of a bank run...
Will Soaring Rents Lead To Higher Core Inflation?
Chicago Real Estate Daily – Rents rise again in sizzling downtown apartment market Downtown apartment rents hit another high in the first quarter, and more hikes may be in the offing amid a red-hot rental market. The average effective rent at top-tier, or Class A, downtown apartment buildings rose to $2.50 a square foot in...
What Happens If Greece Leaves?
The Conscience of a Liberal (NYT Blog) – Paul Krugman: Eurodämmerung Some of us have been talking it over, and here’s what we think the end game looks like: 1. Greek euro exit, very possibly next month. 2. Huge withdrawals from Spanish and Italian banks, as depositors try to move their money to Germany. 3a....
Understanding J.P. Morgan’s Loss, And Why More Might Be Coming
The Wall Street Journal – J.P. Morgan’s $2 Billion Blunder Bank Admits Losses on Massive Trading Bet Gone Wrong; Dimon’s Mea Culpa A massive trading bet boomeranged on J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., leaving the bank with at least $2 billion in trading losses and its chief executive, James Dimon, with a rare black eye...
Gas Prices Are Falling, And You May Not Like The Reason
Click to enlarge: ˜˜˜ Source: Bianco Research > The Wall Street Journal: As Gas Prices Fall, a Sigh of Relief Gasoline prices fell for the fifth consecutive week, extending a sharp decline that has eased fears that prices would soon top $4 a gallon at the pump. The average price of regular gasoline dropped to...
The Take-Away From The European Elections
Comment What is the take-away from the French, German and Greek elections? Simply, austerity is no longer guaranteed. Those elected will attempt to stop the cuts to government spending, benefits and pensions. Instead they will try to retain or expand the European welfare state. The problem with this move toward growth is that the markets...
How Today’s Payroll Report Could Heighten QE3 Talk
The Wall Street Journal – Job Growth Slowed in April, Report Says A gauge of private-sector hiring showed weakness in April, the latest data point to suggest the labor market has cooled a bit from its healthy early-year pace. The U.S. added 119,000 nonfarm private-sector jobs last month, the slowest pace since September, according to...
Is The Neutral Funds Rate Still Negative?
During Bernanke’s press conference last week, he was asked the following question: Q: Greg Ip of The Economist. First, assume that you were not constrained by the zero nominal bound right now. What would the federal funds rate be, even if it were a negative number? And do you believe that you are at an...
Sell In May And Go Away…Except In Election Years
Click to enlarge: > However, the chart below shows just how fickle these seasonality charts can be. Looking at the seasonal return for stocks during election years shows a vastly different picture. > > While investors are not likely to make investing decisions based solely on a catchphrase such as, “Sell in May and go...
Is The Fiscal Cliff Coming Before The Election?
Reuters – ‘Fiscal cliff’ makes U.S. Fed queasy Federal Reserve policymakers are sounding the alarm over a “fiscal cliff” at the end of this year, when scheduled U.S. tax hikes and spending cuts could pose a big threat to the fragile economic recovery. Along with its official mandate of watching unemployment and inflation, the U.S....
