Monthly Archives: March 2013

Has the bull market in stocks become ‘too big to fail’?

"Officially, the Federal Reserve isn't supposed to worry about keeping stock prices flying high. But when Fed Chairman Ben S. Bernanke was asked about the market's outlook last week on Capitol Hill, he sounded like a lot of bullish Wall Street investment strategists. 'I don't see much evidence of an equity bubble,' he told the Senate Banking Committee in his semiannual testimony on Fed policy. Stocks 'don't appear overvalued given earnings and interest rates.' More important for the markets, Bernanke pledged to continue the Fed's policy of pumping colossal sums into the financial system to support the economic recovery." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingHas the bull market in stocks become ‘too big to fail’?

Treasury chief Jacob Lew not worried about financial bubble

"US Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew said Thursday that he was not worried about a potential financial bubble forming as Wall Street stocks racked up record highs. 'The analysis that I’ve seen doesn’t give me reason to be worried right now,' Lew said in an interview on US business news channel CNBC. Lew nevertheless called for monitoring of the situation in order to avoid another crisis like the 2008 Wall Street crash that led to the Great Recession. The blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average on Thursday closed at a record high for the eighth day in a row, though the US economy remains sluggish and massive government spending cuts kicked in on March 1." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingTreasury chief Jacob Lew not worried about financial bubble

Land prices rising even after year of record drought

"American farmers may have suffered an historic drought last year, but the price of their land is skyrocketing. In Iowa, the land prices jumped 24% in 2012 and and have gained 63% over the last three years, according to a study by Iowa State University. Last year, farmers recovered some $14.7 billion in insurance payments for crop damage, a record sum. US government forecasters expect overall farming income to gain 14 percent this year. 'Farmers have cash on hand and with low interest rates, the best place to make investments is to buy more land that they can farm to be more profitable in their operation,' said Lyle Hansen, a real estate agent." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingLand prices rising even after year of record drought

Private equity crash could trigger next wave of financial crisis, Bank of England warns

"The Bank of England warned on Thursday that the next phase of the UK's six-year financial and economic crisis may be triggered by the collapse of debt-laden companies bought by private equity firms in the boom years before the crash. In its latest quarterly bulletin, Threadneedle Street said the need over the next year to refinance firms subject to heavily leveraged buyouts posed a systemic threat. The Bank added that it would use its new role as the watchdog of the City to monitor private equity deals in future 'episodes of exuberance' to prevent a repeat of the debt-driven takeover boom in the run-up to the banking crisis." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPrivate equity crash could trigger next wave of financial crisis, Bank of England warns

Euro woes not over, says crisis-wary Bundesbank

"A wary German central bank said on Tuesday it had set aside billions more euros against what it deems risky European Central Bank moves, and criticized France directly for "floundering" in its reform drives. Presenting Bundesbank 2012 results, Jens Weidmann, the bank's chief, said the euro zone crisis, which has eased as a result of ECB funding promises, was not over. Weidmann, a member of the ECB's Governing Council, opposed the bank's yet-to-be-used bond-buy plan agreed last September and believeseuro zone governments must shape up their economies to exit the crisis rather than looking to the ECB for help." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingEuro woes not over, says crisis-wary Bundesbank

150,000 Greek Public Sector Job Cuts Pending As Greece Launches Another Grexit “Plan B” Movement

"Greece is locked in talks with international creditors in Athens about shrinking the government workforce by enough to keep bailout payments flowing. Identifying redundant positions and putting in place a system that will lead to mandatory exits for about 150,000 civil servants by 2015 is a so-called milestone that will determine whether the country gets a 2.8 billion-euro ($3.6 billion) aid installment due this month. More than a week of talks on that has so far failed to clinch an agreement." Continue reading →

Continue Reading150,000 Greek Public Sector Job Cuts Pending As Greece Launches Another Grexit “Plan B” Movement

Nigel Farage: Eurozone completely incompatible with nation-state democracy

"There has been a major political event since we last met and no one has mentioned it. Italy had an election. And 55% of the electorate voted for Eurosceptic political parties, indeed Mr Grillo's movement managed to get 26%. It is quite tough in European politics these days to tell who the comedians are. And what is absolutely clear is that Eurozone membership is completely incompatible with nation-state democracy. You can do what you like to take away the powers of national parliaments but people will go on voting, and there is a trend developing right across Europe; the Eurosceptic parties are going to get stronger and stronger." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingNigel Farage: Eurozone completely incompatible with nation-state democracy

More Entrepreneurs Say “Au Revoir”, Escape France’s Confiscatory Tax Regime

"New evidence of top French executives leaving the country has emerged as President Francois Hollande battles a stalling economy and tumbling approval ratings. Two senior executives at Moet Hennessy, the champagne and cognac arm of the LVMH luxury group, are moving to London from Paris and the head of Dassault Systemes, the software arm of Dassault Aviation, said some senior managers of his company had left and he was considering following suit. …The news follows Mr Arnault’s own application for Belgian citizenship, leaked last September, which poured fuel on a fiery debate in France about entrepreneurship, patriotism and high taxes." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMore Entrepreneurs Say “Au Revoir”, Escape France’s Confiscatory Tax Regime