News Posts

Sign of a top? GLD Moves Into Top Spot, Surpasses SPY As Biggest ETF – Focus on Funds

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GLD Moves Into Top Spot, Surpasses SPY As Biggest ETF Is $5,000/Ounce The New Target In Gold’s Run?MKM: Buy Silver ETF (14% Upside); Pair Utilities With October Calls By Murray Coleman Here’s another rather stark sign of our times: – The SPDR Gold Trust (GLD) on Friday moved past the grand-daddy of all ETFs, the SPDR S&P 500 (SPY), as the leader in overall assets. According to data provided by State Street’s (STT) Global Advisors ETF unit today, here’s a breakdown of assets as of Friday’s close: GLD: $76.67 billion SPY: $74.38 billion But something to keep in mind about … Read more

S&P replaces president with Citibank exec after U.S. downgrade

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(Reuters) – The chief of Standard & Poor’s will step down next month, to be replaced by a senior Citibank executive, in a move announced a few weeks after the credit rating agency downgraded U.S. government debt and sparked a row with Washington. S&P’s parent, McGraw-Hill Companies Inc, said on Tuesday that Deven Sharma, who has served as S&P president since 2007, would step down on September 12, to be succeeded by Citibank chief operating officer Douglas Peterson. “S&P will continue to produce ratings that are comparable, forward looking and transparent,” McGraw-Hill said in a statement, adding that Sharma would … Read more

China Details Yuan Use Offshore

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SHANGHAI–China has released draft guidelines on foreign investors’ use of yuan acquired overseas for direct investment in the country, taking another significant step forward in further internationalizing the Chinese currency and opening the nation’s tightly controlled capital account. In a statement late Monday, the Ministry of Commerce laid out for the first time the framework for the so-called yuan-denominated foreign direct investment, formalizing a trial program launched in the second half of last year. While under the trial program approvals were granted on a case-by-case basis, the new … Full article available @: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111903461304576525731746088812.html?mod=rss_whats_news_us&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+wsj%2Fxml%2Frss%2F3_7011+%28WSJ.com%3A+What%27s+News+US%29&utm_content=Google+Reader

Politics to Stall USA Recovery

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The Word from Republicans on The Hill is, “we will oppose Obama’s plans” US President Obama is widely expected to announce a new jobs plan on or just after Labor Day when he returns from his vacation. The plan will likely include the extension of payroll tax cuts, new revenue for transportation projects and an extension of emergency unemployment benefits for the 9.1% of Americans still unemployed. Mr. Obama’s campaign advisor, David Axelrod, said Sunday that there is nothing in the proposal “that reasonable people shouldn’t be able to agree on”, but many Republicans are already preparing to reject and … Read more

Layoffs sweep Wall Street, along with low morale

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(Reuters) – In early summer, before layoffs began sweeping across Wall Street, billboard-sized photos of employees were plastered on the walls, pillars and elevator banks of Credit Suisse Group AG’s offices in the United States and abroad. The museum-quality prints, depicting workers from administrative assistants to senior executives, were emblazoned with motivational words like “Proactive” and “Partner.” By mid-July, however, the photos disappeared and the Swiss banking giant began laying off 2,000 employees. Security guards prevented employees from taking cell-phone pictures as the posters were stripped away, according to one employee who was present. “It sent an entirely wrong message,” … Read more

Global Baking Regulation Update

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Enhancing financial regulation has been a common view between governments since crisis in Y 2008, but debates over implementation details continue, especially since the recent debt crisis has given rise to Double Dip recession danger. Bankers and financial experts have agreed that the Global banking system needs prudent regulation, but how to strike a balance between regulation and financial innovation is Key issue not yet solved.. Dai Peng, an official with Export-import Bank of China, one of China’s policy banks, said at Saturday’s 5th Annual Bankers Forum that increased regulation and financial innovation should receive equal attention in the reform … Read more

Bank Taps Fund, Raising Jitters in Europe

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Amid renewed fears that the euro-zone crisis could put fresh pressure on short-term funding, an unidentified bank made use of the Federal Reserve’s swap facility via the Swiss National Bank, borrowing $200 million earlier this month. The SNB disclosed that it applied for $200 million of dollar swaps on Aug. 10, at a rate of 1.08%. The funds were paid back on Aug. 18. In a sign of the nervousness sweeping the markets, both UBS AG and Credit Suisse Group, Switzerland’s two largest banks, issued denials Friday … Full article available @: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111903596904576518462334049434.html?mod=rss_whats_news_us&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+wsj%2Fxml%2Frss%2F3_7011+%28WSJ.com%3A+What%27s+News+US%29&utm_content=Google+Reader

U.S. Stocks Little Changed Amid Economic Concern; Oil, Euro Rise

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Aug. 19 (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks fluctuated between gains and losses as investors weighed growing concern over the global economy and Europe’s debt crisis against valuations near the cheapest level since 2009. Crude oil and the euro rose. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index rose 0.2 percent at 11:59 a.m. in New York after rising as much as 1.2 percent and falling 0.9 percent. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index slipped 1.6 percent after dropping as much as 3.6 percent. Oil rose 1 percent as it also swung from losses to gains. Gold futures topped $1,880 an ounce for the first … Read more

Low Rates Hit Money-Market Funds

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Money-market mutual funds, those havens of safety for investors during tumultuous times, are facing their own pressures as interest rates continue to decline. The funds, which historically aimed to provide higher yields than bank deposits without risk of losses, are waiving fees and consolidating—or closing their doors altogether. The drop Thursday on the 10-year Treasury to below 2% in intraday trading provided fresh bad news for the funds. Money-market funds once were profit machines, collecting $13 billion in fees at their peak in 2008. But they have seen their revenues shrivel by 65% over the past three years as short-term … Read more

The New World Order

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Most Americans are too distracted to recognize that the New Global Order (the Order) has emerged. It is safe to say that the USA will most likely continue to be a main player in the Order. But, right alongside it will be China, Russia, India, Turkey, Japan, South Korea and Brazil. It is now unclear if the EU with Germany carrying the whole weight, will be able to play. Alone, Germany would be a Key player IMO. Washington, no matter what it does will not be able to stop this transformation. US politicians, however, will continue to bluster that the … Read more

SEC May Have Destroyed Papers on Bank Probes

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The Securities and Exchange Commission may have destroyed documents related to investigations into major banks and hedge funds, according to Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa). “From what I’ve seen, it looks as if the SEC might have sanctioned some level of case-related document destruction,” Grassley said in a statement. “It doesn’t make sense that an agency responsible for investigations would want to get rid of potential evidence. If these charges are true, the agency needs to explain why it destroyed documents, how many documents it destroyed over what time frame, and to what extent its actions were consistent with the law.” … Read more

Wall Street tumbles on economy, bank worries

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(Reuters) – Stocks tumbled more than 4 percent on Thursday after data pointed to a stalled economyand as bank shares sank on a report regulators were scrutinizing the U.S. units of big European lenders. The decline was broad as well as steep, with just a small handful of the S&P 500’s components in positive territory. The KBW bank index slid 5.5 percent, with Citigroup Inc off 9.6 percent at $27, and Morgan Stanley down 7.5 percent at $15.75. “The market is in meltdown mode,” said Sal Catrini, managing director for equities at Cantor Fitzgerald & Co in New York. “The … Read more

‘ U.S. units

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(Reuters) – The Federal Reserve Bank is taking a closer look at the U.S. units of Europe’s biggest banks, concerned that a euro zonedebt crisis could spill into the U.S. banking system, the Wall Street Journal reported. The $2.5 trillion U.S. money market funds industry — which supplies short-term dollar funding to banks — has retreated from the euro zone in recent months, concerned that the continent’s debt crisis is spiraling out of control. That and the drying up of interbank lending has led to a trebling of dollar funding costs for euro zone banks in the last month. One … Read more

Governments Still Buying Gold

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Thailand, South Korea and Kazakhstan added gold valued at about $2.59 billion to their reserves in July, joining Mexico and Russia in increasing holdings this year as central bankers hedge against depreciating foreign-currency reserves. Gold fell for the first time in four days after the metal’s rally toward $1,800 an ounce prompted some investors to sell the metal. Immediate-delivery bullion lost as much as 0.4 percent to $1,784.20 an ounce, and traded at $1,787.90 at 9:09 a.m. in Singapore. Gold’s relative strength index has topped 70 since Aug. 5, a signal of a potential drop. “the next gold consolidation will … Read more

S&P Backs French Triple-A Rating

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PARIS—A senior Standard & Poor’s Corp. analyst Thursday confirmed France’s triple-A rating and stable outlook for the country, dispelling investor fears that the top-notch grade of the euro zone’s second-largest economy may be at risk. “We’re confident in the triple-A rating, stable. We have confirmed it, we confirm it today,” said Carol Sirou, the head of S&P in France, in an interview on French radio. “There are several rumors, but we never comment on them.” France has increasingly appeared to be the weak link among top-rated euro zone countries, with higher deficit and debt-to-gross-domestic-product ratios than the other five triple-A … Read more

Greece, Ireland, Portugal Should Default on Debt, Pimco Says

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Aug. 17 (Bloomberg) — European politicians should let Greece, Ireland and Portugal default while taking steps to ensure Italy and Spain won’t, according to Pacific Investment Management Co.’s Neel Kashkari. “They are delaying and denying as long as possible because the medicine to actually put out this crisis tastes so bad,” Kashkari, head of new investment initiatives at Pimco, said in an interview on “InBusiness With Margaret Brennan” on Bloomberg Television. “They are always behind, always trying to play catch-up, and the crisis is always getting worse.” Germany, France, the International Monetary Fund and the ECB should unveil a “massive” … Read more

Producer Prices Surge in July as Inflation Fears Ratchet Up

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U.S. core producer prices rose at their fastest pace in six months in July, pushed up by higher tobacco and light truck costs, according to a government report on Wednesday that could stoke inflation fears. The Labor Department said its seasonally adjusted index for prices paid at the farm and factory gate, excluding food and energy, rose 0.4 percent—the largest increase since January—after rising 0.3 percent in June. That compared with economists’ expectations for a 0.2 percent rise. Overall prices received by producers rose 0.2 percent after falling 0.4 percent in June, above economists’ expectations for a 0.1 percent gain. … Read more

Fed Faces Criticism as Political Season Intensifies

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  Don’t mess with Texas, at least when it comes t0 monetary policy. Rick Perry, the latest entrant into the race for the Republican presidential nomination and already among the frontrunners, fired a shot across the bow of the Federal Reserve Monday. “If this guy prints more money between now and the election,” the Lone Star state’s governor said “it would be almost…treasonous.” That kind of scathing criticism of the Fed usually was leveled behind closed doors. In the same Texas tradition, in the 1960s President Lyndon B. Johnson excoriated then-Fed Chairman William McChesney Martin for raising interest. But that … Read more

Apple Vs Samsung

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Court limits Apple’s ban on Samsung’s Galaxy tablet The ban on a Samsung Electronics Co. (KS:005930) tablet computer across Europe was lifted after the German court that granted Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) an injunction last week scaled back the ruling to within national borders. The iPad maker is not allowed to enforce its August 9 injunction outside of Germany against the South Korea- based Company, the Dusseldorf Regional Court decided yesterday. The ban on Samsung’s Galaxy Tab 10.1 in Germany stands, court spokesman Peter Schuetz said in an interview. “The judges decided to limit the enforceability for now because there are … Read more

Biden to Defend Obamanomics in China

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The People’s Daily, the official newspaper of China’s ruling Communist Party, spelled out Beijing’s chief concerns ahead of Biden’s arrival in Beijing on Wednesday evening local time, when he was greeted by senior Chinese diplomats. China wants Biden to reinforce U.S. assurances that its holdings of dollar assets and U.S. Treasury debt remain safe, despite Standard & Poor’s recent downgrade of the sovereign credit rating of the United States, the paper indicated. Since the Standard & Poor’s ratings downgrade in August, Chinese state media have accused Washington of reckless fiscal policies that have created uncertainty about Beijing’s big holdings of … Read more

Warren Buffett calls Tea Party Insane

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Charlie Rose – Warren Buffett.   As always Buffett is illuminating and comforting.  He is the nation’s economic compass and a person we can consider a  genuine national treasure if there ever was one.   In this great interview with Charlie Rose he likens the budget debate as a game of chicken with two cars lined up heading  toward one another.  Both parties think the other will turn away before mutual self destruction except suddenly one party throw the steering wheel out the window.  Suddenly the other driver realizes he is dealing with an insane person, aka the Tea Party.

Obama Says Strong Recovery Will Begin With Small Businesses

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Aug. 16 (Bloomberg) — President Barack Obama told an audience in rural Iowa that the U.S. economy will come back “stronger than before” after the worst recession in decades, driven by small businesses and entrepreneurs. “That comeback isn’t going to be driven by Washington, it is going to be driven by folks here in Iowa,” Obama said in opening a forum on the rural economy at Northeast Iowa Community College in Peosta. The federal government can help if lawmakers “put aside the politics of the short-term” and spend on programs such as education and expanded Internet access that will pay … Read more

US stocks fall on global economic worries

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NEW YORK (AP) — More evidence of a slowing global economy sent stocks falling Tuesday and threatened to end the market’s three-day rally. Germany’s economy stalled last quarter and dragged down growth for Europe. In the U.S., reports painted a mixed economic picture: Housing remains weak, but factory output rose last month at its fastest pace since the March earthquake in Japan disrupted global manufacturing. The Dow Jones industrial average fell more than 120 points in the first half hour of trading before paring most of its losses by noon. Stocks then quickly resumed their decline after the leaders of … Read more

Merkel, Sarkozy propose eurozone government

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PARIS (AP) — All countries that use the euro should have mandatory balanced budgets and better coordination of economic policy, the leaders of France and Germany said Tuesday, pushing for long-term political solutions instead of immediate financial measures like a single European bond. French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel also pledged to harmonize their countries’ corporate taxes in a move aimed at showing the eurozone’s largest members are “marching in lockstep” to protect the euro. Both leaders stressed their commitment to defending the common currency, a cornerstone of integration on this long-fractured continent. They presented their proposals … Read more

Why Banks Aren’t Lending: Weak Economy, Regulatory Uncertainty

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Why Banks Aren’t Lending: Weak Economy, Regulatory Uncertainty By Peter Gorenstein U.S. banks got hammered last week on concerns the sovereign debt crisis in Europe coupled with slow growth and a weak U.S. consumer are setting the stage for another financial crisis. U.S. banks still have some troubling legacy assets on their balance sheets but for the most part they are in much healthier shape then back in 2008, says John Garvey head of U.S. banks and capital markets at PricewaterhouseCoopers. “The banks have made pretty significant steps in the last couple of years to improve their stability in terms … Read more

Fitch Affirms U.S. AAA Credit Rating, Says Outlook Stable

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Aug. 16 (Bloomberg) — Fitch Ratings affirmed its AAA credit rating for the U.S. and said the outlook is stable, citing the nation’s central role in the global financial system and the flexible, diverse economy. Fitch had put the rating under review after lawmakers reached a compromise Aug. 2 on a debt-limit agreement that prevented a U.S. default. Standard & Poor’s on Aug. 5 cut its U.S. credit rating to AA+ from AAA, saying lawmakers failed to cut spending enough to reduce record deficits. Moody’s Investors Service affirmed its top U.S. ranking last week. The U.S. may be placed on … Read more

Pressure Rises on China to Fight Inflation

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  SHANGHAI—Fresh data showing strong capital inflows into China and a spike in the interest rates on central-bank debt showed continuing pressure on the government to keep fighting inflation with tightening measures despite worries about weakness in the global economy. Foreign direct investment in China last month jumped 20% from a year earlier to $8.3 billion, China’s Commerce Ministry said Tuesday. The data came as the People’s Bank of China unexpectedly jacked up the interest rate on its debt for the first time since late June. That higher yield, which came in a regular weekly auction of one-year bills, was … Read more

A Wild Ride to Profits

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The stock market’s recent wild swings have unsettled many investors, but they have led to record profits for high-frequency traders following months of disappointing returns, industry analysts and money managers said. Some traders interrupted August vacations to return to their computers amid the global panic that triggered steep market selloffs, sharp upward swings and then more selling. Traders don’t know how long the extreme volatility and elevated trading volumes will last—but they don’t want to miss out, said investors and Wall Street trade-execution managers. Full article provided by WSJ @: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111904253204576510371408072058.html?mod=rss_whats_news_us&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+wsj%2Fxml%2Frss%2F3_7011+%28WSJ.com%3A+What%27s+News+US%29&utm_content=Google+Reader

‘s Lockhart says U.S. recession risks have risen

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(Reuters) – The risk of a new U.S. recession has risen over the last couple of months, but an outright contraction will most likely be avoided, Atlanta Federal Reserve Bank President Dennis Lockhart said on Monday. Lockhart said there is plenty the central bank could do if the economydoes deteriorate further, including ramping up asset purchases or shifting their composition. Recent market volatility, driven in part by concerns of slowing economies both in the United States and Europe, threatens consumer confidence and could put a crimp on spending, Lockhart told a Rotary Club meeting. “The events of the last several weeks … Read more

BUFFETT CALLS FOR HIGHER TAXES

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Buffett calls for higher taxes on US Super Rich The wealthiest Americans should pay more income tax and make sacrifice to bring the Nation’s fiscal house in order, Warren Buffett, chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, said Monday. “While the poor and middle class fight for us in Afghanistan, and while most Americans struggle to make ends meet, we Mega-Rich continue to get our extraordinary tax breaks,” Mr. Buffett said in an article carried on Monday’s The New York Times. Mr. Buffett noted that he paid 17.4% of his taxable income for the federal income and payroll taxes last year, and the … Read more