FED’S PIANALTO: CHOPPY RECOVERY AHEAD April 16, 2012 CLEVELAND Fed president Sandra Pianalto yesterday warned recent disruption to the downward trend in unemployment highlights the “uneven pattern of economic activity.” She described the improvements in the labour market as “modest,” and said the economy has “moved from a walk to a trot, but [is] far from a gallop.”
Analyst picks for 16 April 2012 April 16, 2012 CURRENCY STRATEGIST JOEL KRUGER My pick: Looking to buy euro-Swiss franc Expertise: Combining technical and fundamental analysis Average time frame of trades: 1 month to 3 months It is hard to ignore the very well publicised SNB SFr1.2000 floor and ability for the market to remain so well supported by the barrier. Still, the market [...]
US Treasury expects profit from bailouts April 15, 2012 THE US Treasury Department has said that the many programs that it, the Federal Reserve and banking authorities implemented during the darkest hours of the 2007-2009 financial crisis will likely end up making a profit for taxpayers. At a background presentation for reporters, a senior Treasury official who spoke on condition of anonymity said the [...]
Debate sparked by 140-letter Sentance April 15, 2012 HOLDING down the currency artificially is standard fare for politicians who want to give their country’s industries a competitive boost – China’s opponents in the US have long accused it of manipulating its currency to support economic growth, while the Fed has been accused of doing the same by printing money. Closer to home, the [...]
CHARITY RAID SET TO COST BILLIONS April 12, 2012 GEORGE Osborne’s plan to cap tax relief on charitable donations will cost good causes billions of pounds, the City warned last night, as a series of senior MPs fed a growing political revolt. Investment manager Brewin Dolphin and accounting firm Baker Tilly spoke out against the proposal while business secretary Vince Cable said he was [...]
Investor fears force Italian debt yields up April 12, 2012 ITALIAN bank stocks dropped sharply yesterday after renewed worries about the government’s ability to pay its debts pushed up state borrowing costs. Greece’s economic nightmare continued as official data showed unemployment increased to a record high of 21.8 per cent in January, and youth unemployment hit 50.8 per cent. Meanwhile UBS analysts warned that the [...]
Fed hawk in new call over inflation April 12, 2012 Inflation in the US will be above target next year and may force the Federal Reserve into earlier tightening than expected, according to Minneapolis representative Narayana Kocherlakota. One of the Fed’s more hawkish economists, Kocherlakota said at a speech last night that normalisation of interest rates could begin as soon as late this year – [...]
Fed’s Beige Book lifts hopes for solid recovery across the States April 11, 2012 THE US economy is continuing to expand at a “modest to moderate pace,” the Federal Reserve reported last night, as the manufacturing, professional services and retail sectors all recorded strong growth. However, rising energy and fuel prices are beginning to worry producers and consumers, according to the Beige Book – a regular publication which analyses [...]
Pressure on US banks to raise capital buffers April 11, 2012 TOP FED officials yesterday warned against the risks to financial stability posed by European debt and pushed for banks to hold more capital against future crises. Kansas City Federal Reserve president Esther George said the leverage ratio is one buffer in the financial system that is historically there to absorb losses, and that there must [...]
LOCKHART: NO NEED FOR MORE QE April 11, 2012 THE US economy remains fragile but things would have to get a lot worse for the Federal Reserve to launch another round of monetary stimulus, Atlanta Fed president Dennis Lockhart said yesterday. “I view it as a policy that would respond more to a fairly dramatic negative change of direction in the economy,” he said.