By Edward Luce A driver is stuck in a jam in Washington. A man knocks on his window: “Terrorists have kidnapped Congress, and they’re asking for $100m otherwise they’ll burn them with gasoline,” the man says. “We’re going from car to car to get donations.” What are people giving on …
Category: Economy & Markets
Time for Policymakers to Get Real on US Housing
By Liz Ann Sonders - Senior Vice-President and Chief Investment Strategist at Charles Schwab Today, housing represents a record low of US gross domestic product at about 2 per cent compared with more than 6 per cent at its 2005 peak. But the psychological impact of housing on individuals, the stock market and the broader …
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Reasons to Be Bullish, But With a Lower Case ‘b’
By Laszlo Birinyi The S&P 500 has been perilously close to a 20 per cent decline in recent weeks which would, by definition, terminate the bull market which began in March 2009. Given the economic circumstances and the continuing political turmoil on both sides of the Atlantic, most commentators believe it is only a matter …
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QE3 on its Way As Fed Prepares Phillips Trial
From the Financial Times and Scott Minerd When Ben Bernanke, chairman of the Federal Reserve, emerges from his meetings with the Federal Open Market Committee, he addresses the media in that most Delphic of dialects – “Fedspeak.” Like any good central banker, he is careful to preach the piety of price stability. Even if he …
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Did You Hear the One About the Bankers?
By THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN CITIGROUP is lucky that Muammar el-Qaddafi was killed when he was. The Libyan leader’s death diverted attention from a lethal article involving Citigroup that deserved more attention because it helps to explain why many average Americans have expressed support for the Occupy Wall Street movement. The news was that Citigroup had …
Is a Housing Market Turnaround at Hand?
By Gil Weinreich, AdvisorOne October 24, 2011 After years of housing market decline that has weakened the economy and depressed consumer sentiment, a number of analyses are strongly suggesting that a turnaround in the beaten sector may finally be at hand. Indeed, the market seems to be adding its endorsement to these analyses, with the …
A Look Ahead at the Geography of Global Security
As readers of this blog know already, I’m fascinated by the thinking and writing of Thomas P.M.Barnett. He is a strategic thinker with an ability to express complex ideas and to synthesize those ideas in a way that is understandable to those of us not so blessed. Here is a recent article by Barnett that …
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Why the housing burden stalls America’s economic recovery
An article from the Financial Times by Dr. Lawrence Summers The central irony of the financial crisis is that while it is caused by too much confidence, too much borrowing and lending and too much spending, it can only be resolved with more confidence, more borrowing and lending, and more spending. Most policy failures in …
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The Haves and the Have-Nots
Some time ago I posted an article called Cognitive Dissonance. It put me in mind of something that frustrates me. I’m where I am in life and perhaps you are where you are as a result of forces in this country that created what we think of as the ‘great middle class’. You know these …
Capital Market Insights – OCTOBER 24, 2011
Here is your Weekly Insights update from Curian’s Asset Management Group. This informative capital market update is designed to help those of you who want to manage your own money. Stay informed about important developments in economics and the markets… CONTINUE READING…
Helping Define Your Financial Future 