Consumer Confidence Collapses – Biggest Miss On Record

Huy, huy… ConsumerConfidenceCollapses – BiggestMissOnRecord http://feedly.com/k/18ZkURj Thisisthefirstconsecutivemonthlydropin 14 monthsandthelargestmissvsexpectationsonrecord. Printing at 76.8 (against an expectation of 82.0), this is the lowest in 5 months and points to the picture we have been painting of a consumer increasingly affected by rising rates and soaring gas prices amid stagnant incomes. As Citi notes below, this is the exact same pattern we have seen play out in the … Seguir leyendo Consumer Confidence Collapses – Biggest Miss On Record

Did Capitalism Fail?

DidCapitalismFail? http://feedly.com/k/13WTHjy Regulators, bankers, and rating agencies bear much of the blame for the 2008 crisis. But the near-meltdown was not so much a failure of capitalism as it was a failure of contemporary economic models’ understanding of the role and functioning of financial markets – and, more broadly, instability – in capitalist economies. shared via http://feedly.com Seguir leyendo Did Capitalism Fail?

PIIGS Bonds Get Slaughtered At Close

PIIGSBondsGetSlaughteredAtClose http://feedly.com/k/13ZC6HO PortugueseandItaliansovereignbondspreadshaverisenforfourweeksin a row now (with Portugal +29bps this week alone and near 2013 wides) but the close today was unusual in its agression. Portugal had been blowing wider since yesterday, but minutes beforetheclosetoday, SpainandItalywereslammedhigherinyield/spreadandlowerinprice (BMPS unwinding?) Of course European stocks didn’t care – Greece up 5.6% on the week, Spain +3.3%, Italy +3%… "fixed" 4th week in a row that EU bond spreads … Seguir leyendo PIIGS Bonds Get Slaughtered At Close

India Housing Bubble Bursts; Panic Coming Next

India HousingBubbleBursts; PanicComingNext http://feedly.com/k/15qrfaT On August 1, in India HousingBubbleStillExpanding I posted a series of charts by Deepak Shenoy, an economic blogger at Capital Mind in India. Those charts showed the bubble in India was alive and growing. Here is one of the charts and a small bit of commentary …. As of March 2013, Prices have more than doubled since 2009. The All-India Index … Seguir leyendo India Housing Bubble Bursts; Panic Coming Next

Men in Black Return to Spain; ECB Complains of Too Much Leeway; Alarm Bells Ring “More Tax Hikes Coming”

Guapo incoming… MeninBlackReturntoSpain; ECBComplainsofTooMuchLeeway; AlarmBells Ring "More TaxHikesComing" http://feedly.com/k/13Y1A8v MeninBlackReturn Via translation, La Vanguardia reports MeninBlackWill Examine BankBailoutonMonday A mission of experts from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) will arrive in Madrid on 16 September to discuss with government and private sector rescue progress and Spanish banking sector reform, reported a spokeswoman for the international institution. The IMF and inspectors from the European Commission and … Seguir leyendo Men in Black Return to Spain; ECB Complains of Too Much Leeway; Alarm Bells Ring “More Tax Hikes Coming”

Robert Murphy gets Mises’s Epistemology Wrong

RobertMurphygetsMises’sEpistemologyWrong http://feedly.com/k/1awi5ub Over at his blog, Robert Murphy is involved in a new Methodenstreit, and selectively quotes a passage from Mises that demonstrates that Murphy himself does not properly understand Mises’s epistemology: RobertMurphy, “Mises on A Priori Reasoning,” FreeAdvice, 12 September. That is underscored by this comment of his later in the post: “I was going to be snotty about it, but that would be … Seguir leyendo Robert Murphy gets Mises’s Epistemology Wrong

Why You Should Learn to Love the Brave New World of Low Liquidity

WhyYouShouldLearntoLovetheBrave New WorldofLowLiquidity http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2013/09/why–you–should–learn–to–love–the–brave-new-world–of–low–liquidity.html The Financial Times reportedearlierthisweek (hat tip Scott) how banks are cutting the size of corporate bond trading desks and reducing the size of trading inventories, all as a result of big bad regulations. As a result, the banks would like us to know, investors might be hurt by a lack of liquidity! Horrors! The reporter, Tracy Alloway, is too savvy to … Seguir leyendo Why You Should Learn to Love the Brave New World of Low Liquidity