QE2: one is not amused by the potential for US equity downturn May 23, 2011 THE sheer size of the numbers involved in the Federal Reserve’s quantitative easing program (QE2) can be difficult to comprehend. By comparison, Queen Elizabeth II receives a paltry £7.9m per annum from the Civil List. This is nothing compared to the $600bn of US Treasuries bought by the Federal Reserve during this cycle of quantitative [...]
WALL STREET WEEK AHEAD May 22, 2011 Signs of a Wall Street sell-off are all over the place, but US stocks might well survive another week relatively unscathed if investors keep betting on sectors less vulnerable to an economic downturn. Pressure for a correction in the stock market has been building up in the past few weeks as the euro and oil [...]
Fed seen as more hawkish May 18, 2011 THE FEDERAL Reserve should begin to normalise interest rates at the end of this year, according to several members of the Federal Open Markets Committee (FOMC) as revealed by minutes of the Fed’s 26-27 April meeting released last night. However, the committee is split, with others believing that “underlying inflation remained subdued” and “longer-term inflation [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING May 17, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES FED SEEKS ANNUAL US BANK STRESS TESTS The Federal Reserve wants to subject US banks to annual capital tests, reserving the right to veto dividend pay-outs if they do not pass. A draft of the new rule is set to be approved by the Federal Reserve Board and put out for public comment [...]
EQUITIES ARE STRUGGLING AS QE2 ENDS May 16, 2011 MOST global equity markets are struggling to make headway following the sharp sell-off at the beginning of the month. Investors are shying away from stocks on concerns that valuations are looking stretched, and as a number of tailwinds which had previously offered support are now fading. In the US, the first quarter earnings season is [...]
US inflation on the rise May 13, 2011 US inflation hit the highest level in two and a half years as food and energy prices moved higher, but there was little sign of a broader pick-up in inflation that would trouble the Federal Reserve. The Labor Department said on Friday its Consumer Price Index increased 0.4 percent in April from March after rising [...]
Commodities lead Wall Street down May 11, 2011 US stocks almost erased a three-day rally yesterday as energy and commodity shares sank, feeding worries over the market’s ability to stay on an upward path. The second major breakdown in commodities in a week fuelled selling in other risky assets, including stocks. A stronger dollar and data showing a rise in US fuel supplies [...]
Sterling looks weak but not as frail as the euro and dollar May 10, 2011 STERLING has had a tough year. An underwhelming recovery and loose monetary policy from the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) have had their impact, neither of which looks to be imminently reversed. But bad as things are, the monetary authorities in the US appear to be wedded to keeping interest rates lower for longer than the [...]
Euro versus dollar: a scrappy fight May 10, 2011 OVER the last fortnight, the euro-dollar pairing has turned into a bit of an ugly dog contest, with both sides competing to see who carries the fewest fleas. However, the euro came out second best in this challenge last week, hit with attacks from all sides. The tipping point for the pairing came when the [...]
Rebels fed up with Cipriani May 9, 2011 RUGBY UNION: England outcast Danny Cipriani’s Melbourne Rebels future is on the line with the club admitting they are fed up with his ill discipline. “Players and management have lost confidence in Danny,” said chief executive Ross Oakley.