Keynesian purists are all clutching their foreheads, but actually it’s pretty fabulous that Australia’s politicians are competing with each other to promise budget surpluses.
US Federal Reserve
Why the US Fed is still the kingpin of banks
Shades of 2008, and why the US Federal Reserve is still the banker to the world: much to the chagrin and humiliation of Europe.
US banking fantasyland, where a debt is an asset
No wonder US banks are on the nose and the Occupy Wall Street groups are slowly making headway in winning over public opinion.
Global markets face a testing week
Next week has several trip points that could affect global markets, with one, next Wednesday night in Germany, capable of sending the global economy and markets into a swoon.
Bartholomeusz: bouncing off a commodities pothole
During last week’s roller-coaster ride on markets, most of the focus was on the wild swings in the value of equities, bonds and currencies. Almost overlooked was the fact that commodities also had a shocker of a week.
Kohler: S&P’s false ratings alarm
The world’s sharemarkets have been jumping at shadows lately, so the impact of an actual scary boogey man — in the shape of the first downgrade of US Treasury debt in history — is completely unpredictable.
Maley: hovering over a US debt trap
With still no sign that Washington has been able to craft a compromise solution for raising the debt ceiling, global markets are becoming increasingly worried, writes Karen Maley, of Business Spectator.
Bartholomeusz: nervous times of known unknowns
The Greek debt crisis is coming to a head at an awkward moment for the global financial system, coinciding, as it does, with the imminent end of the US Federal Reserve Board’s QE2 program of quantitative easing.
Bartholomeusz: sucked into a commodities vacuum
The wobbles in commodity markets in recent weeks may well be related to the imminent end of the US Federal Reserve’s $US600 billion QE2 quantitative easing program.
After-effects of GFC disaster continue to emerge
Governments have a habit of meddling with things. This is largely due to the political imperative of being seen to be doing something to fix economic problems.
US economy: Grant a mentor-in-waiting for Bernanke
Jim Grant, author of Grant’s Interest Rate Observer, is one of the world’s best economic forecasters. When it speaks about global markets, and tells Ben Bernanke to resign, it might be worth a listen.
Maley: are we heading for a post-QE2 collapse?
Are we about to see a collapse in global share and commodity prices as QE2 draws to a close? asks Karen Maley, of Business Spectator.
Maley: QE3 or bust, warns US funds manager
The Fed’s policy, says US funds manager Jeremy Grantham, holds an implicit promise to speculators that they’ll be bailed out in the third and fourth year of the presidential cycle, writes Karen Maley.
Maley: Bernanke’s big bond bet for US markets
The US sharemarket surged to its highest level since mid-2008 overnight, clearly showing that investors had no fear of what US central bank boss Ben Bernanke might say at his historic press conference later today. Karen Maley of Business Spectator reports.
Bernanke printing money … now there’s food for thought
Perhaps Ben Bernanke isn’t as stupid as he seems and realises that his monetary stance is causing destruction but believes that protecting banks and maintaining an image of US solvency is more important than affordable food.
Maley: a frightening replay of 2007
Surging global equity prices, junk bond yields at record lows, the return of “covenant-lite” deals — for many observers we’re seeing a replay of the heady first months of 2007, writes Karen Maley, of Business Spectator.
Commodity price blame: it’s not our fault, says Bernanke
As food and energy prices continue to soar, the damaging game of blame and counter-blame between the US and the developing world continues, with neither side prepared to admit that their policies are contributing to the commodity price surge, writes Business Spectator’s Karen Maley.
Maley: inflation builds, but US too fragile for rates rise
Inflationary pressures are now clearly building in the United States and Europe, but central bankers will be extremely reluctant to raise interest rates for fear of jeopardising their fragile economic recoveries, writes Karen Maley, of Business Spectator.
Westpac stays ‘mum’ on emergency $1b loan from US Fed
Sometimes important corporate news is ignored. Shareholders miss it, companies hide it and governments fail to publicise it.
US Fed tells ‘how we saved the world’
Overnight, the US Federal Reserve released a slew of documents detailing the amazing level of support it gave the world economy.
Maley: China’s risky rates gamble
There is now clear evidence that their reluctance to tighten monetary policy means that Chinese companies and consumers are changing their behaviour in the expectation of price rises, writes Karen Maley of Business Spectator.
Singapore dollar move echoes dilemma facing RBA
The central banks of Australia and Singapore are concerned about inflation already have acted to try and slow those pressures and their economies, but have done so using very different monetary policy tools
Warning to the White House: address budget deficit or face disaster
US Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke has added to an ever-growing list of doomsday predictions about the future of the US economy, arguing that the White House must urgently address budget deficit and in particular public finances, reports Luca Di Leo.
Maley: the gold-plated curse of the greenback
‘Dump the dollar, buy whatever’ now appears the dominant mantra in financial market. Investors believe the Greenback is now caught in a downward spiral because the US Federal Reserve will keep applying fresh rounds of monetary stimulus, writes Karen Maley.
