Blog Archives

Government intervention and the credit crisis: The good news and the bad news

BloggingStocks: Equity markets in the United States and across the world rose Thursday and this morning as the Federal Reserve and the other major central banks injected billions of dollars into the global financial system in an unprecedented move to stabilize the... Read moreFiled under: Before the bell, Major movement, Deals, Good news, Bad news, Market matters, Money and Finance Today, Economic data, Politics, Headline news, Federal Reserve, Recession

The bailout of Fannie and Freddie: Temporary relief but a real solution would be much better!

BloggingStocks: Secretary of the Treasury Henry Paulson announced over the weekend that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are being placed into conservatorship. The government is injecting capital into the entities and assuming responsibility for the senior debt. It also... Read moreFiled under: Major movement, Good news, Money and Finance Today, Federal Natl Mtge (FNM), Economic data, Headline news, Federal Reserve, Recession

The FOMC minutes: The cure may be worse than the disease!

BloggingStocks: The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) released the minutes of its recent meeting on August 5. The event itself was a bit of an anti-climax because of the comments by Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke at the recent Wyoming summit. Everyone knew that... Read moreFiled under: Forecasts, Press releases, Market matters, Money and Finance Today, Economic data, Oil, Headline news, Housing, Federal Reserve, Recession

Philly Fed and initial claims: A possible bottoming, but no rebound yet

BloggingStocks: The Philadelphia Fed Survey of Manufacturing in the tri-state area came in at -12.7. This was an improvement from the prior month's reading of -16.3, and slightly ahead of expectations. Initial unemployment claims were 432,000, which was also an... Read moreFiled under: Forecasts, Economic data, Oil, Housing, Federal Reserve, Recession

Bad news on CPI and initial claims: The focus is now on oil prices!

BloggingStocks: There was a double play in economic reports this morning, and the news was not good. CPI and Initial Jobless Claims both came in higher than expected. Equity futures turned negative across the board after the news was released. CPI was expected to... Read moreFiled under: Forecasts, Market matters, Economic data, Oil, Federal Reserve, Recession

FOMC decision: Doves 10, hawks 1

BloggingStocks: The Federal Open Market Committee issued its decision to leave interest rates at 2%. This was as expected. However, the statement was much more dovish than expected. Language in the previous statement indicating that downside risks to growth "appear... Read moreFiled under: After the bell, Good news, Market matters, Money and Finance Today, Economic data, Commodities, Oil, Headline news, Federal Reserve, Recession

The Unemployment Report: Wall Street breathes a sigh of relief!

BloggingStocks: The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released the July Employment Report -- it was a mixed bag. Wall Street, concerned that the report would be much worse than expected, promptly breathed a sigh of relief with equity futures rallying after the... Read moreFiled under: Market matters, Money and Finance Today, Economic data, Headline news, Federal Reserve, Recession

The Fed Beige Book Report: Hawkish talk, but no action

BloggingStocks: The Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City released its Beige Book Report detailing economic activity among the twelve Federal Reserve Districts across the country. The pace of economic activity was quite sluggish throughout much of the country. At the... Read moreFiled under: Forecasts, Economic data, Commodities, Oil, Housing, Federal Reserve, Recession

Dear Fed: If it acts like a bank, regulate it like a bank!

BloggingStocks: During the recent testimony by Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke, Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson and SEC Chairman Christopher Cox, it has become increasingly clear that the Federal Reserve will be forced at least in the near term to extend a financial... Read moreFiled under: Other issues, Market matters, Money and Finance Today, Headline news, Federal Reserve, Recession

The FOMC decision: No easy solution to the inflation-employment problem

BloggingStocks: The Federal Open Market Committee issued its decision on interest rates Wednesday. It kept rates unchanged as expected but increased the hawkishness of the accompanying statement. It maintained its credentials on combating inflation but was careful... Read moreFiled under: After the bell, Market matters, Economic data, Oil, Federal Reserve, Recession

Fed likely to keep rates steady next week; current policy favors small-cap stocks

BloggingStocks: Given that fear is ruling the equity markets these days, it is easy to lose sight of the basic principles behind investment success. Early this week, once again, all eyes will be on the Federal Reserve, which is expected to keep rates unchanged. I... Read moreFiled under: Books

The Philly Fed : It's still the economy!

BloggingStocks: The June Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Index came in at -17.1 which was substantially below the -10.0 number forecasted and the -15.6 number from the previous month. This number seems to overshadow the better-than-expected Leading Indicators number... Read moreFiled under: Forecasts, Economic data, Housing, Federal Reserve, Recession

Bernanke's speech: Hawkish comments on 'irrational exuberance' for 2008

BloggingStocks: Yesterday, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke gave a speech at the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston's 52nd Annual Economic Conference in Chatham, Massachusetts. In his speech, he said, "The Federal Open Market Committee will strongly resist an erosion of... Read moreFiled under: Forecasts, Bad news, Market matters, Money and Finance Today, Economic data, Presidential elections, Headline news, Federal Reserve, Recession

Hawkish language from the Fed: What happened to Gentle Ben?

BloggingStocks: Recently we have heard hawkish comments from Fed chairman Ben Bernanke. He has stated that interest rates will probably not be lowered any further and that inflation is now a major concern for the Federal Reserve. The market has absorbed these... Read moreFiled under: Other issues, Market matters, Getting started, Economic data, Headline news, Federal Reserve, Recession

GDP and initial claims: No recession but the slowdown continues!

BloggingStocks: First Quarter GDP was revised to 0.9% up from the initial estimate of 0.6%. This was also up from the fourth-quarter GDP number of 0.6%. The increase was largely due to increased export growth with consumer spending up but quite anemic. Initial... Read moreFiled under: Forecasts, Economic data, Presidential elections, Oil, Federal Reserve, Recession

The FOMC Minutes: Rate cut a close call with no good news in the future

BloggingStocks: The minutes of the recent meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) were released today. It indicated that the decision to cut the Federal Funds Rate and the Discount Rate at the last meeting on April 30 was a "close call." This may... Read moreFiled under: Forecasts, Bad news, Market matters, Economic data, Oil, Federal Reserve, Recession

Fed Chairman Volcker's testimony: Update regulations to reflect the new reality!

BloggingStocks: Former Fed Chairman Paul Volcker gave testimony today before a Joint Economic Committee of Congress. He addressed the current financial and economic environment and the role of the Federal Reserve. He discussed how the financial market environment... Read moreFiled under: Politics, Headline news, Federal Reserve

The Bernanke speech: Loose monetary policy for the future

BloggingStocks: Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke addressed the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta Financial Markets Conference in Sea Island, Georgia this morning via satellite. He discussed in detail the recent provision of liquidity by the Fed. He discussed the... Read moreFiled under: Forecasts, Conventions and conferences, Economic data, Headline news, Federal Reserve, Recession

Oil prices and Fed policy: A solution is not as easy as it seems!

BloggingStocks: Many people are saying that the rise in oil prices is the result of loose monetary policy. They say that there is an easy solution to the problem. Raise interest rates substantially, and the problem will be solved. Since the rise in oil is also the... Read moreFiled under: India, China, Economic data, Commodities, Oil, Housing, Federal Reserve, Recession

The FOMC decision: Managing expectations and maintaining credibility

BloggingStocks: The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) reduced interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point, taking the target Federal Funds Rate to 2% and the Discount Rate to 2.25%, as expected. However, the indication of at least a pause in interest rate... Read moreFiled under: Forecasts, Market matters, Economic data, Headline news, Federal Reserve

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