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Nobel Prize winner warns of US stock market bubble

"At the ceremony in Sweden, Schiller told Reuters news agency that the Federal Reserve's economic stimulus and growing market speculation were creating a "bubbly" property boom. 'This financial crisis that we've been going through in the last five years has been one that seems to reveal the failure to understand price movements,' Shiller told Reuters. The S&P 500 Index is now higher by 26.6 percent since the start of the year, logging its longest weekly winning streak since 2004 on Friday. Both the Dow and the S&P 500 are regularly breaking fresh new all-time highs and the Nasdaq is trading at levels not seen since the Dotcom boom went bust in 2000." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingNobel Prize winner warns of US stock market bubble

Nobel Prize winner warns of US stock market bubble

"At the ceremony in Sweden, Schiller told Reuters news agency that the Federal Reserve's economic stimulus and growing market speculation were creating a "bubbly" property boom. 'This financial crisis that we've been going through in the last five years has been one that seems to reveal the failure to understand price movements,' Shiller told Reuters. The S&P 500 Index is now higher by 26.6 percent since the start of the year, logging its longest weekly winning streak since 2004 on Friday. Both the Dow and the S&P 500 are regularly breaking fresh new all-time highs and the Nasdaq is trading at levels not seen since the Dotcom boom went bust in 2000." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingNobel Prize winner warns of US stock market bubble

Gold suffers worst November since 1978

"A price fall of such magnitude hasn't been seen in November since 1978, according to data from the World Gold Council, when prices plunged 20 percent. Spot gold rested at $1,252 an ounce on Friday and was headed for its biggest monthly drop since June. It has lost over a quarter of its value year-to-date, putting it on track to post its first annual loss in 13 years. Citi said this month that gold was about to enter 'phase two' of its bear market and its downside target for the metal is now $1,111 per ounce. Goldman Sachs, meanwhile, predicts a 'significant decline' in gold in 2014, with a fall of at least 15 percent." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGold suffers worst November since 1978

38,000 Australians take ANZ bank to Federal Court over banking fees

"The largest consumer class action in Australian history begins in the Federal Court in Melbourne today as 38,000 ANZ customers appeal over the bank's fees. Law firm Maurice Blackburn is taking the action on behalf of ANZ customers, with the court set to examine whether the fees are fair or whether they are excessive and therefore illegal. A High Court decision last year paved the way for the trial in the Federal Court. Maurice Blackburn has the financial backing of publicly listed litigator IMF. Andrew Watson, the head of class actions at Maurice Blackburn, says the fees are not an accurate reflection of the costs faced by banks when customers are caught out." Continue reading →

Continue Reading38,000 Australians take ANZ bank to Federal Court over banking fees

London Gold Fix Calls Draw Scrutiny Amid Heavy Trading

"Every business day in London, five banks meet to set the price of gold in a ritual that dates back to 1919. Now, dealers and economists say knowledge gleaned on those calls could give some traders an unfair advantage when buying and selling the precious metal. The U.K. Financial Conduct Authority is scrutinizing how prices are set in the $20 trillion gold market, according to a person with knowledge of the review who asked not to be identified because the matter isn’t public. The process, during which gold is bought and sold, can take from a few minutes to more than an hour. The participants also can trade the metal and its derivatives on the spot market and exchanges during the calls." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingLondon Gold Fix Calls Draw Scrutiny Amid Heavy Trading

15 new UK banks in five years, predicts Metro founder

"Mr Thomson, backed by US banking entrepreneur Vernon Hill, launched Metro Bank in 2010. It was the first award of a new full banking licence since the 19th Century, underlining the barriers to entry that new competitors face. New entrants to the market have failed to loosen the grip of the 'Big Five' banks, which includes the taxpayer-owned Lloyds-Halifax brands and RBS-NatWest. It was announced in March that new applicants for UK banking licences would face more 'relaxed' demands on the amount of capital they hold as part of plans to reduce barriers to entry and stimulate competition." Continue reading →

Continue Reading15 new UK banks in five years, predicts Metro founder

Bitcoin: Experts clash over the crypto-currency

"Bitcoin is reaching new heights thanks to a combination of speculation on future value and genuine, undeniable usefulness. Think about it: Why can it take days or weeks for banks to send money around the world, when an email travels in seconds? Does the money travel by steamboat? Are they loading gold bars onto the side of a camel and sending it over the mountains of Mongolia? Of course not. The real answer is depressing - banking is a stagnant market running on long-obsolete infrastructure, which improves only when forced to by government. [..] When Metro Bank opened in 2010, it received the first new UK banking licence issued in 150 years." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBitcoin: Experts clash over the crypto-currency

Australian central bank’s talk of intervention sends Aussie dollar down

"The overnight fall in the Australian dollar shows once again that just a few carefully targeted words from Reserve Bank governor Glenn Stevens have the power to move markets. While Mr Stevens did not say the Reserve Bank was about to intervene to pull the dollar down, his comment that the option was in the monetary policy 'toolkit' proves that words from the central bank governor can be timely bullets. The impact-laden comments show the RBA's frustration in its attempts to lower the dollar, despite 2.25 percentage points of cuts to the official cash rate since late 2011." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingAustralian central bank’s talk of intervention sends Aussie dollar down

Bitcoin Gets a Cautious Nod From China’s Central Bank

"Speaking at an economic forum on Wednesday, Yi Gang, the deputy governor of the People’s Bank of China and director of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange, said that it would be impossible for China’s central bank to recognize the Bitcoin as a legitimate financial instrument in the near future. But, Mr. Yi added, people are free to participate in the Bitcoin market and he would personally adopt a long-term perspective on the currency. The statement comes during a week of remarkable turbulence on China’s numerous Bitcoin exchanges." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBitcoin Gets a Cautious Nod From China’s Central Bank

China Central Bank: No Longer in China’s Interest to Increase Reserves

"The People’s Bank of China said the country does not benefit any more from increases in its foreign-currency holdings, adding to signs policy makers will rein in dollar purchases that limit the yuan’s appreciation. 'It’s no longer in China’s favor to accumulate foreign-exchange reserves,' Yi Gang, a deputy governor at the central bank, said in a speech organized by China Economists 50 Forum at Tsinghua University yesterday. The monetary authority will 'basically' end normal intervention in the currency market and broaden the yuan’s daily trading range, Governor Zhou Xiaochuan wrote in an article in a guidebook explaining reforms outlined last week following a Communist Party meeting." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingChina Central Bank: No Longer in China’s Interest to Increase Reserves