The collapse of oil prices is now beginning to weigh heavily upon the oil producing countries. Russia just posted the sharpest decline in GDP since 2009 and its third quarter outlook has further deteriorated. Its foreign reserves according to the IMF are $357 billion down...
Oil has dropped over 25% or $16/barrel since June 30, one of the sharpest decimation in history. Everything in the energy sector has been utterly destroyed since June 30, a destruction that is greatly amplified in the bond market given liquidity issues brought upon by...
Will this week be of significance? Wednesday is a Fed meeting and Friday is the initial release of second quarter GDP, statistics that I am certain the Committee will have before its meeting....
Yesterday Bloomberg reported 2015 has had more down days in the S & P 500 than any year at since 2002. Moreover the declines have gotten longer and the rebounds smaller, the smallest “post dip” bounce in at least three years....
Markets ended quietly but moderately lower on Friday. First quarter GDP was revised to -0.7% versus the previous estimate of 0.2%. Analysts had thought growth would be revised to -0.9%....
I have commented many times the markets have been co-opted by technology. An inordinate amount of market volatility is the result of indexing and ETFs, a view that is also partially shared by Fed Reserve Chairwoman Yellen....
In my view there is a potential disconnect between recent economic data suggesting weakness and the weekly jobless data suggesting strength. Weekly jobless claims are around 15 year lows but recent statistics is projecting second quarter GDP around 1.0%....
Bloomberg reports bonds backed by loans to Spanish small businesses became the first asset-back securities to stop making interest payments last week after the benchmark rates turned negative....
Friday the Greece finance minister stated it will not seek an extension of its bailout agreement declaring “we don’t plan to cooperate with that [Troika of the official creditors] committee.” If neither the ECB nor Greek blinks as the ECB has adamantly stated Greece is...
I am happy to see January over. It was a tough month, in my view one of the toughest months since 2008-09. Was January the culmination of difficult 7 or 8 months for as I look backwards, April or May was the last time the...