Fed easing assumptions attacked January 21, 2013 The assumption that monetary easing can slash US unemployment is based on a false assumption that all unemployment is cyclical, ING researchers argued yesterday. The Federal Reserve is radically loosening monetary policy as it believes unemployment is due to the downturn – but actually much of it is structural, the ING note argues – meaning [...]
Free cash and entrepreneurial spirit defy Blue Monday gloom January 20, 2013 THE third Monday in January (yes, that’s today) is often touted as the most depressing day of the year, based on a highly unscientific formulae involving weather, debt, time since Christmas, and guilt at failing set of New Year’s resolutions. But this year The Capitalist has noticed a slew of press releases from firms – [...]
Shock collapse in Philly Fed poll contradicts upbeat jobless data January 17, 2013 FACTORY activity in the key mid-Atlantic region fell back into decline in January, US data revealed yesterday. But across the US as a whole, 37,000 fewer new unemployment insurance claims were made in the week ending 12 January, when adjusting for seasonal variations – giving a much more optimistic picture of the economy. However, the broader [...]
Why Dodd-Frank is pushing the US towards impending financial crisis January 17, 2013 IT’S been more than two years since the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act was signed into law by Barack Obama. Passed in the aftermath of the financial crisis, and involving some of the most significant changes to regulation since the Great Depression, regulators have been writing rules at an astonishing pace ever [...]
Wall Street’s big banks roar again while cutting costs January 16, 2013 EVEN the most committed banker-basher should find something to like in the latest results from Wall Street. Huge rises in profits at JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs from a year ago came alongside reductions in staff and salaries and a boost in lending to small businesses and homebuyers. JP Morgan announced it was cutting chief [...]
Fed’s Beige Book says economy is improving at moderate pace January 16, 2013 ECONOMIC activity across the US expanded at either a moderate or modest pace in recent weeks with consumer spending picking up, the Federal Reserve said last night, suggesting little change in terms of the recovery’s strength. The US central bank painted a cautiously positive picture of an economy gathering steam across its 12 districts, although [...]
Steady inflation and positive economic data boosts US hopes January 16, 2013 AMERICAN investors were given a brief respite from the US debt ceiling row yesterday, as fresh data revealed steady inflation, high home-builder morale and a rise in industrial output. US consumer prices stayed flat in December, the Labor Department said, potentially giving the Federal Reserve scope to continue its ultra-loose monetary policies. The consumer price [...]
UPS and TNT fail to deliver £4.3bn tie-up January 14, 2013 SHARES in delivery firm TNT Express slumped more than 40 per cent yesterday after its long-awaited €5.2bn (£4.3bn) takeover by United Parcel Service (UPS) collapsed under regulatory pressure. Despite efforts to appease the European Commission with offers to amend the deal, the firms were told on Friday that the EC intended to prohibit the purchase. [...]
Improved outlook rouses investors January 14, 2013 US housing revival could give boost to sales of associated products WE’RE off to a flying start. The first full week of trading in 2013 saw US equity funds attract $18.3bn (£11.4bn). This was, according to Thomson Reuters’s Lipper service, the fourth best-performing week for net inflows to equity funds since records began. For the [...]
Fed rules out plan for $1 trillion platinum coin to avoid debt limit January 13, 2013 THE US TREASURY this weekend stamped on the idea of minting a $1 trillion (£620bn) platinum coin as a way of funding government spending and dodging the debt ceiling. The Treasury and the Federal Reserve both concluded that the novel way of getting around the fierce political row on public spending was not a viable [...]