France had the first round of its presidential election yesterday, and in order for a candidate to win, they would have had to receive over 50% of the votes. If no candidates gets more than 50% of the votes, then the top two candidates move on to a run-off election on May 7th. No candidate […]
According to Bloomberg the demise of so many retailers has left shopping malls with hundreds of slots to fill, and the pain could be just beginning. More than 10% of US retail space may “need to be closed, converted to other uses or renegotiated for lower rent in coming years”, according to data provided to Bloomberg […]
As we highlighted in Wednesday’s Musings, the US Treasury Department issued copious amounts of debt in the form of US Treasury bonds to cover massive deficits, and to try stimulating the economy. We also showed how the Fed was a major purchaser of those bonds and accumulated a massive $4.5 trillion in assets on its […]
Wall St slips as investors lock in gains of strong quarter. Read story Inflation hits Fed target for first time in nearly five years. Read story Euro-area inflation cools more than predicted on oil, food. Reads story Thanks to US Senate vote, your ISP can now sell your entire browsing history to literally anyone without […]
As the 2008 financial crisis hit, the US Treasury Department issued massive amounts of debt in the form of US Treasury bonds to cover massive deficits, and to try to stimulate the economy. As we can see on the following chart, on August 20/08 the US Federal Reserve (Fed) owned just under $900 billion in […]
In the November election, once the markets digested a Trump victory it liked what it was hearing, and from that election day till the end of February the S&P 500 has jumped almost 15%. A 15% rise in under four months is impressive. The market priced in a ‘deal maker’ president, and loved the idea […]
It doesn’t matter which party is in power in the US, as both Republicans and Democrats overspend their budgets. The pace of overspending has ramped up with Bush and Obama. In fact, Obama racked up more debt than all other presidents combined. With Trump’s promises of massive spending, this trend is not likely to end […]
1. Inflation The US Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that Consumer Price Index (CPI) jumped 0.1% in February. Even though this was the smallest month-over-month increase since the summer, prices are now rising at a 2.7% annualized rate. 2. Bonds With inflation rising at an annualized rate of 2.7%, the US Federal Reserve did the […]
From Market Watch…. Even as the economy continues to improve, student loan borrowers are still struggling to cope with their debts, a new analysis indicates. Roughly 1.1. million borrowers entered default on their Direct Loans, a type of federal student loan, last year, about the same as the previous year, according to an analysis of […]
Fed expected to raise rates as US economy flexes muscle. Read story US stocks, oil rise as dollar slips before Fed. Read story Trump paid $38 million in taxes in 2005. Read story Dutch vote in test of anti-immigrant sentiment in Europe. Read story Early voter turnout high in Netherlands elections. Read story Does Saudi […]