Formerly Head Of The Bank

Readers who expect an early end to this Great Correction are going to be disappointed. There is no sign of it reaching its conclusion anytime soon. Just the contrary…there’s no end in sight. The Great Correction seems to be going along just as you’d expect. Or, just as we’d expect. Here’s the latest from Reuters: Home prices fell more steeply than expected in November, and consumers turned less optimistic in January, highlighting the hurdles still facing the bumpy economic recovery. The S&P/Case-Shiller composite index of single-family home prices in 20 metropolitan areas, released on Tuesday, declined 0.7 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis, a bigger drop than the 0.5 percent economists expected. Separately, an index of consumer attitudes fell to 61.1 in January from 64.8 the ...

The Weekly Bottom Line HIGHLIGHTS OF THE WEEK United States This time last year many economists, including ourselves, were hopeful that the U.S. economic recovery had finally hit its stride. Unfortunately, a series of economic shocks in the first half of the year caused growth to stall by the summer. Once those shocks petered out, growth resumed course, and once again the economy is showing year-end momentum. However, this year ushered in a new phase of the economic recovery where the nature of the downside risks have turned decidedly political. On Capital Hill, much-needed fiscal stimulus is on the chopping block. In Europe, a lack of policy supports threatens the survival of the common currency itself. While recent momentum gives cause for hope that the economic ...

(Reuters) - Brent crude traded above $110 for the third session on Thursday after the world's major central banks moved to tame a liquidity crunch for European banks and sanctions against Iran but fears of slower oil demand ahead capped gains. "The pressure on Brent is the weak economy in Europe. We are not sure if we are going to see significant growth in oil demand. It could be remain flat for a few years," said Tony Regan, analyst at Tri-Zen Capital in Singapore. Brent crude climbed 43 cents to $110.95 by 1:12 a.m. ET, up nearly 0.3 percent from the previous session's close. U.S. crude was up 16 cents to $100.52 a barrel. Despite the collective efforts of the world's central banks to stabilize global markets, some oil investors are still concerned that the euro zone debt crisis will ...

(Reuters) - Brent crude stayed above $110 as Iran's escalating tensions with the West and a pact by euro zone ministers to ramp up the firepower of their bailout fund helped prices to hold on to the previous session's gains. But the positive outcome of Tuesday's meeting of euro zone ministers was negated by a failure to provide concrete details of how much the bailout fund would be boosted and Europe's likelihood of turning to the IMF for help. "It's interesting to note how little reaction we have seen, both in Brent and the spread between the two, to potential further disruptions in the Middle East, particularly with the Iranian invasion of the British embassy," said Michael McCarthy, chief markets strategist at CMC Markets. "It looks as if there will be political ...

(Reuters) - Risks to Japan's export-reliant economy have heightened even after last month's monetary easing, Bank of Japan board member Seiji Nakamura warned on Wednesday, preparing markets for further action to assist with the country's sluggish recovery. Nakamura said the strong yen and Europe's debt crisis were clouding the outlook while the severe flooding in Thailand was likely to dent Japanese factory output by hurting exports to the country and disrupting supply chains in Asia. Doubts over Europe's ability to contain the debt crisis have jolted markets and pushed the yen to record highs on safe-haven demand. Japanese policymakers worry the yen's rise could stall export growth and damage an economy emerging from recession after the devastating March earthquake. "Many Japanese ...

NEW YORK (Reuters)- For the small club of companies who trade the food, fuels and metals that keep the world running, the last decade has been sensational. Driven by the rise of Brazil, China, India and other fast-growing economies, the global commodities boom has turbocharged profits at the world's biggest trading houses. They form an exclusive group, whose loosely regulated members are often based in such tax havens as Switzerland. Together, they are worth over a trillion dollars in annual revenue and control more than half the world's freely traded commodities. The top five piled up $629 billion in revenues last year, just below the global top five financial companies and more than the combined sales of leading players in tech or telecoms. Many amass speculative positions worth ...

With an unusually intense news day ahead, traders are anxiously awaiting the large string of reports out of the US which should clear up the picture somewhat in regards to inflation, retail sales, and consumer confidence. The Federal Budget Balance will also be published, though its impact is not expected to be as high as the retail sales reports. Traders should look towards another bullish day on the dollar should news disappoint. Economic News USD - USD Bullish as Retail Sales Expected to Disappoint The US dollar (USD) was seen trading mildly bullish Thursday ahead of retail sales reports out of the United States where many are expecting disappointment many investors seem to be anticipating. A sudden wave of risk aversion seems to have helped the greenback surge this week and data so ...

We like a good joke. Here’s a cute one: What’s invisible and smells like carrots? Answer: Bunny farts. Here’s another one… Two fish swim into a wall. The one turns to the other and says, “Dam!” But we don’t like bad jokes very much. Here’s one: What did the fisherman say to the card magician? Answer: Pick a cod, any cod! Here’s another one… Many large European banks are solvent. The recent stress tests of European banks were “a joke,” according to Jim Chanos, the famous short seller who laughed all the way to the bank when betting against fatally flawed companies like Enron, Conseco and Boston Chicken. “The tests are a joke,” Chanos declared during an interview yesterday on Bloomberg TV. “The accounting is a joke and the markets are beginning to say, ‘No More!’” Chanos said he ...

With another unusually intense news day ahead, traders are anxiously awaiting the large string of reports out of the US which should clear up the picture somewhat in regards to inflation, manufacturing, and industrial production. The Current Account will also be published, though its impact is not expected to be as high as the manufacturing reports out of New York and Philadelphia. Traders should look towards another bullish day on the dollar should news continue to disappoint. Economic News USD - USD Still Bullish as Retail Sales Disappoints The US dollar (USD) was still seen trading bullish Wednesday after retail sales reports out of the United States disappointed many investors and drove trades towards safe haven assets. A sudden wave of risk aversion seems to have helped the ...