Tag

quantitative easing

Cheap Money to Buy Inflated Assets? “No, Thanks, Ben”

The Limits of QE (“Quantitative Easing”) I’ll tip my hat to the new constitution Take a bow for the new revolution Smile and grin at the change all around me Pick up my guitar and play Just like yesterday And I’ll get on my knees and pray We don’t get fooled again Don’t get fooled...
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Market Focus: What Happens at 1:16 p.m. CST Today?

Will He or Won’t He QE III?? If you’re going to spend 5 minutes watching the markets today — personally, I can think of better uses of my time — the interval to watch is definitely 1:16 p.m to 1:21 p.m. Why’s that? Because Fed Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke starts speaking at 1:15 p.m. today regarding...
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Is the Fed Propping Up Stock Prices?

“1 Picture = 1,000 Words” Department If you can’t make out the labels in the chart above, the three time periods (shown in gray) correspond to the Federal Reserve’s QE I, QE II, and Operation Twist (QE stands for “Quantitative Easing”).  So, is the Fed supporting stock prices? You tell me . . .
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Are Japan — and Now U.S. — Prisoners of ZIRP?

“The Liquidity Interest Rate Trap” Well I don’t know why I came here tonight, I got the feeling that something ain’t right, I’m so scared in case I fall off my chair, And I’m wondering how I’ll get down the stairs, Clowns to the left of me, Jokers to the right, here I am, Stuck...
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Deciphering “Wall Street-Speak”

[Editor’s Note:  lots of deals(!) equal few(er) posts.] A prolonged period of very low interest rates will decapitalize defined-benefit pension funds”both private and public”throughout the country. In California, for example, pension actuaries presume a yield on their asset portfolios of about 7.5% just to break even in meeting their annuity obligations, even if they were fully funded....
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Pulling the Plug on Paul Krugman

Shackling the Bond Vigilantes In a world where pundits divide into those who think the federal government should be doing more to help the economy, and those who think it’s already done (way) too much, economist and New York Times columnist Paul Krugman lands squarely in the former camp. In fact, you might say that he is...
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