Fed chair Yellen answers the big jobs question February 11, 2014 It's the question everyone's asking. Is present unemployment a result of cyclical or structural factors? The Fed chair said that cylical factors have played the biggest role in the employment rise. BTIG's chief global strategist Dan Greenahaus says that this insight "really matters", as it suggests that the Fed can and should keep pushing ahead. [...]
Yellen says this traditional monetary policy rule doesn’t work under current conditions February 11, 2014 Fed chair Janet Yellen has said that the Taylor Rule – a monetary policy rule that compares inflation and actual GDP with potential GDP – doesn't work under current conditions. Yellen noted in answer to financial services committee chairman Jeb Hensarling that the Taylor Rule would have prescribed negative interest rates. That meant that other [...]
Fiverr forges new partnership with Coinbase February 11, 2014 The world's largest marketplace for selling services starting at $5 has teamed up with Bitcoin processing company Coinbase. Fiverr sellers who provide services from as little as $5 all the way up to $8,000, will now be able to receive payment in Bitcoin. Announcing the move on its website Coinbase said "Fiverr is also opening [...]
Goldman Sachs loses chief FX strategist Stolper February 11, 2014 News this afternoon that Goldman Sachs' chief currency strategist Thomas Stolper says he's leaving the bank. It comes hot on the heels of Goldman’s announcement that it’s just appointed a new co-head of its securities division, Ashok Varadhan.
Janet Yellen just endorsed this new measure of the economy in all but name February 11, 2014 Move aside headline unemployment, this Fed chair has a new favourite. In her written testimony Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen said that "the number of people who are working part time but would prefer a full-time job remains very high." That's an almost explicit mention of "U6" – one of the Bureau of Labor Statistics' [...]
Car sales are lower than you think. Here’s why that’s great news for auto-backed bond traders February 11, 2014 New car sales have been booming in Britain recently, but Moody’s points out that sales are not as high as they have been – and that’s good news for anyone who fancies buying into auto-backed securities. While sales of new vehicles rose 10.8 per cent last year, the market remains just below the 15-year average. [...]
Yellen shows Carney how to wriggle out of forward guidance like a pro February 11, 2014 (@GeneralBoles) Bank of England governor Mark Carney must be one of the world’s luckiest central bankers – as he began his job, the stagnant UK economy suddenly kicked off, and inflation returned to two per cent after spending five years above target. And when he does come up against a major challenge, another central banker [...]
What you need to know before the US open – 11/02 February 11, 2014 Markets will open half an hour before questions from the House are put to the chair of the Fed, Janet Yellen. US futures are widely unchanged on the news, with the S&P 500 expected up 0.1 per cent at open. The Yellen Reaction: Stocks Down, Gold Down, Bonds Frown http://t.co/U6nR5jn7ga — zerohedge (@zerohedge) February [...]
Online payments company Stripe expands to 130 currencies February 11, 2014 Stripe, the online payments firm started by two Irish brothers in their mid-20s and valued at $1.75bn (£1.06bn) last month, has expanded its payment services from four to over 130 currencies. “This is something that is phenomenally important to businesses, because when you’re selling to an increasingly global audience you want to be able to [...]
New Fed chair Yellen says labour market recovery is “far from complete” February 11, 2014 It's Janet Yellen's first big test. The new Fed chair's written testimony was widely expected to show that she'd be leading the central bank in a more dovish direction. Yellen has said that the FOMC will continue to taper QE in measured steps, buit that there is no preset course – it's contingent on jobs, [...]