Mainstream News

Yellen tells graduates: Show grit like Ben Bernanke

"Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen on Wednesday delivered what you’d expect from a commencement speech: graduates, she said, should 'tend the fires of curiosity,' listen to others, and show grit in the face of failure. Yellen reminded New York University students in Yankee Stadium that even Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig and Joe DiMaggio failed most of the time they stepped to the plate, according to a text of her remarks. And what example did Yellen find for such an inspirational beacon of bravery? Why, her predecessor, Ben Bernanke." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingYellen tells graduates: Show grit like Ben Bernanke

Silver Fixing Company to Stop Running London Benchmark

"The company that runs the London silver fixing, a benchmark dating back more than a century, will stop running the process after Deutsche Bank AG said two weeks ago that it was dropping out of the price-setting ritual. The London Silver Market Fixing Ltd. will stop administering the fixing on Aug. 14, it said today in a statement. Regulators have been stepping up their scrutiny of how gold and silver prices are set in the wake of the London interbank offered rate-manipulation scandal. The FCA is visiting member banks involved in the gold fixing as part of its review of gold benchmarks. Deutsche Bank has said it is leaving fixings as it scales back its commodities business." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSilver Fixing Company to Stop Running London Benchmark

Suit Goes To Bat For Future Taxpayers [1986]

"A lawsuit supported by the National Taxpayers Union and two state attorney generals has been filed on behalf of 60 million children, charging that deficit spending benefits today`s adults at the expense of youth who will have to bear the future burden. The novel suit names Treasury Secretary James Baker as the defendant, and it seeks to enjoin Baker from issuing any new instruments of federal debt except in certain instances and to compel the establishment of a schedule to reduce the deficit. It also argued that by forcing children to assume responsibility of debts now incurred by fiscally irresponsible adults, children are being denied equal protection of the laws under the 5th Amendment." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSuit Goes To Bat For Future Taxpayers [1986]

Wholesale Prices in U.S. Climb by Most in a Year; Food Prices Surge

"The 0.6 percent increase in the producer price index was the biggest since September 2012 and exceeded all estimates in a Bloomberg survey of economists, figures from the Labor Department showed today. Over the past 12 months, costs climbed 2.1 percent. Food prices surged by the most in three years. Wholesale food expenses increased 2.7 percent in April, the biggest jump since February 2011, led by an 8.4 percent surge in the costs of meats that was the biggest since 2003. A confluence of events ranging from drought in the West to porcine epidemic diarrhea is pushing up prices for beef, pork and other foods." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingWholesale Prices in U.S. Climb by Most in a Year; Food Prices Surge

Fed Warns Of Crackdown On Leveraged-Buyout Deals

"The Federal Reserve warned it may need to take additional action to rein in banks' funding of corporate takeovers after observing continued deterioration of lending standards this year. The statements were the latest warning that U.S. regulators want banks to end practices they see as risky in so-called leveraged lending markets. The Fed and the Office of the Comptroller told banks in March 2013 to avoid funding takeover deals that would leave companies with high levels of debt. Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen said that some bank-underwriting standards had loosened as a response to investor appetite for additional risk, a byproduct of low interest rates." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFed Warns Of Crackdown On Leveraged-Buyout Deals

Yellen Concerned Fed Models Fail to Predict Price Moves

"Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen is concerned that the standard models central banks use to forecast inflation may be broken. Behind her disquiet: the failure of the models to foresee the path of prices in the U.S. during the last recession and its aftermath and in Japan during its deflationary period from 1998 to 2012. U.S. inflation has been higher than the simulations suggested, while Japanese price declines proved more persistent. Yellen alluded to her concerns in a speech last week, saying the Fed has to 'watch carefully' to see if inflation picks up as the central bank projects -- and hopes -- during the next few years." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingYellen Concerned Fed Models Fail to Predict Price Moves

Cyprus lifts almost all domestic capital controls

"Cyprus has reached another milestone in getting rid of capital controls it put in place after being bailed out last year, saying all domestic controls have been lifted except the opening of new bank accounts. The Finance Ministry said in a statement Friday that a prohibition on cashing checks as well as caps on domestic transactions and payments that don't require central bank vetting have now been removed. However, restrictions on unfettered money transfers abroad remain in place. Authorities said they hope to lift them by year's end. Authorities imposed restrictions to prevent a run after international creditors last year forced the seizure of uninsured deposits in its two largest lenders." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingCyprus lifts almost all domestic capital controls

Fed Tapers Another $10 Billion, Expecting Rebound From Grim Q1

"The U.S. economy stalled out in Q1, as GDP rose at a 0.1% annual rate, the Commerce Department said Wednesday. But with other data showing rebounding growth in the spring, the Federal Reserve voted to taper its bond-buys by another $10 billion. The Fed's decision, widely expected, cited ongoing improvement in the economy. But as previously signaled, the central bank left interest rates untouched and pledged to keep policy easy as long as the economy remained shaky. Residential investment fell hard for a second straight quarter, and business fixed investment declined at a 5.5% rate. Both sectors were expected to help lead the economy in 2014." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFed Tapers Another $10 Billion, Expecting Rebound From Grim Q1

Millennials Mired in Wealth Gap as Older Americans Recoup Wealth

"The damage inflicted on U.S. households by the collapse of the housing market and recession wasn’t evenly distributed. For households headed by someone 40 years old or younger, wealth adjusted for inflation remains 30 percent below 2007 levels on average. Net worth for older Americans has already recouped the losses. With fewer young people owning homes, not as many are benefiting from the rebound in home prices. What’s more, heads of households under age 40 aren’t benefiting as much from a boom in equity prices, which have hit record highs this year. About 27 percent of 18 to 29 year olds owned stocks as of April 2013, compared to 61 percent of 50 to 64 year olds." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMillennials Mired in Wealth Gap as Older Americans Recoup Wealth

Housing in U.S. Cools as Rate Rise Hits Sales: Mortgages

"After a roller-coaster decade of boom-bust-boom, the U.S. housing market is going downhill just when many economists thought annual sales would be heading up. Sales of previously owned properties in March tumbled 7.5 percent from a year earlier to the slowest pace in 20 months, while purchases of new houses sank 14.5 percent from February, according to reports this week. Mortgage applications to buy homes plunged 19 percent from a year earlier, indicating slowing demand during what is typically the busiest season for deals. Mortgage interest rates are rising from record lows as the central bank withdraws its stimulus, and investors are now retreating." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingHousing in U.S. Cools as Rate Rise Hits Sales: Mortgages