Tag Archives: Fed

Central Banks (and Stock Markets) Gone Wild

Posted on April 4, 2013 by

(click here if video is not observable)

Posted in ECB | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

The Bernanke Stock Squeeze

Posted on February 27, 2013 by

So Bernanke says 2016 is when he thinks unemployment moves to the monetary policy target of 6.5 percent.   That’s a long time before the party in U.S. stocks will end.    Nutcracker short squeeze. The shakeout over the past … Continue reading →

Posted in Equities | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

VIX Has Largest Weekly Down Move Since Inception

Posted on January 5, 2013 by

The CBOE has a nice piece out noting this week’s 39.1 percent collapse in the VIX was the largest weekly percent down move since the index was launched in January 1990.  The week also saw record volume days for the … Continue reading →

Posted in Global Stock Performance, Monetary Policy, Sovereign Debt | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

Ballooning of Central Bank Balance Sheets

Posted on December 4, 2012 by

Interesting data and charts from the IMF on the ballooning of central bank balance sheets. Since August 2007, the Fed’s balance sheet has increased by 221 percent, mainly through the purchase of government bonds and mortgage backed securities, with the … Continue reading →

Posted in Monetary Policy | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Bonds Away?

Posted on August 8, 2012 by

The 10-year Treasury yield is starting to bump up against some key resistance levels around 1.68-1.70 percent.   Can’t tell you what it means in these  squirrelly markets, but it is confirmation of the rally in equities. We’re waiting for the … Continue reading →

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Where The Inflating Things Are

Posted on June 18, 2012 by

On the eve of the Fed’s FOMC two-day meeting we thought this chart illustrating what is inflating in the U.S. consumer basket very relevant.   Don’t see much deflation x/ energy and the core CPI (x/ food and energy) remains stuck … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Inflation/Deflation | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Central banks brace for stormy weekend

Posted on June 16, 2012 by

(click here if video is not observable)

Posted in Black Swan Watch, Euro, PIIGS | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Euro Crisis: Lorenzo Bini Smaghi

Posted on April 19, 2012 by

Lorenzo Bini Smagi,  former Member of the Executive Board of the European Central Bank, nails it, You call it austerity, i would call it putting your house in order. You can’t grow especially if you have a deficit which is … Continue reading →

Posted in Black Swan Watch, Budget Deficit, Eurozone Sovereign Spreads, Fiscal Policy, PIIGS, Sovereign Debt | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Nonlinear Thinking: Robotic Surgeons & Central Bankers

Posted on March 26, 2012 by

Here’s a piece we’ve been wanting to post for a long time.  Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) is a leader in the development and commercialization of medical robotic technology.  As the chart shows this is not just a concept but a very … Continue reading →

Posted in Nonlinear Thinking, Policy | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Is the Bond Market’s Arab Spring Upon Us?

Posted on March 14, 2012 by

Ugly action in bonds over the past few days. In last month’s post,  Is the Fed ready for the bond market’s Arab Spring?, we suspected the Fed needed more ammo to continue their repression of long-term rates.   Yesterday Mr. Bernanke … Continue reading →

Posted in Black Swan Watch, Bonds, Budget Deficit, Sovereign Debt, Sovereign Risk | Tagged , , | 1 Comment